Occular
by Aldsan
Summary: The Eternal Empire strikes against the Sith and Republic alike! However, DARTH OCCULUS is not one to fall so easily. Using her knowledge of ghost binding, her spirit escapes her demise, fleeing to a distant world, where she plans to bide her time and regain her power. Her chosen vessel is unaware of this plot however, only knowing that they have gained new power...
1. Prologue

The temple rumbled and dust fell from the ceiling. The distinctive scream of intercept fighters could be heard even here, as well as the explosions that followed as they were torn apart, the ground shuddering under their impact.

Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith, was under attack.

And yet, Darth Occulus did not stir. The other members of the Dark Council had long since left - whether to fight or to flee in the face of the enemy - and the Council chambers sat silent. The Head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge however, did neither. They had analyzed the enemy forces and realized that there would be no victory in this battle. However, even if the Sith were to be denied victory, they could at least avoid defeat. It was something that Occulus excelled in. To retreat when necessary, to build power and wait for the opportune moment to strike. Though this battle might be lost, the Heir of Kallig was not so easily defeated.

Immersed in the Force, visions flickered at the edges of their vision, even as they pulled on it, shaped it into the form they desired. Flickers of color, sights processed and discarded and replaced with more. A great creature stood over a city, wreaking devastation with each step it took. A Jedi stood firm in the face of an Emperor. A golden man shone with power, yet seemed all the more empty for it. A great planet seemingly made of crystal. A young girl screamed, trapped in darkness. The Emperor was betrayed, stabbed from behind. The Emperor looked at Occulus and smiled, his plan coming to fruition.

Occulus jerked back. That Vitae's latest shell had seen them, even in a vision, was disturbing. The agitated whispers of the ghosts teased at their ears, and the sound of combat came from outside the Council doors. They ignored both. Khem Val would be their last line of defense and the Dashade did not fall so easily.

There had been an answer there, in that final vision of Vitae. They would need to commit everything to it. The spirits they had bound would need to wrung for every drop of power. The spirits would annihilated by the effort, and Occulus did not count on being able to so easily find powerful Sith ghosts to bind once again. It would be a permanent loss of power. However, it was necessary if they were to survive.

Occulus began to gather power, to direct it, swirling it about them until they seemed to be sitting in the eye of a maelstrom. It was not some simple circle however. The power followed patterns, eddies moving across the ground in eldritch shapes that Occulus had not bothered to draw. There was no need after all, so long as they kept the necessary sorcery firmly entrenched within their own mind.

The door shattered, a powerful wave of the Force sending it sliding into the Chamber. A pair of men, twins from the look of them, strode in - one clad in black, the other in white. They immediately began to separate, circling around to surround Occulus. The one in white was the first to speak. "So this is the final member of the Dark Council? It feels a bit underwhelming to finish things off by fighting a coward who hid away."

Occulus did not answer. They simply closed their eyes. The last of their companions had fallen. They had felt Adronikos and Talos fall, the Fury crashing into the surface. Ashara and Xivhkalrainik had been part of the ground defenses. And now Khem Val was gone as well. Well. Let it not be said that they were incapable of being spiteful. They might not be capable of killing these aggressors in turn, but they could at least manage some petty vengeance. The man in black frowned and began to step forward before suddenly stopping. "Careful, Arcann. I can feel her power. And… there's something wrong here."

The man in white, Arcann apparently, let out a disdainful snort. "We've already trampled through the rest of the so-called Dark Council. I doubt this one will be any more of a challenge than the rest."

A cold voice cut through the conversation. "You would be incorrect, Arcann. Thexan is wise to be wary. Of course, you are used to being second-best to your brother, aren't you?"

The man - no, the boy, Occulus corrected themself, flinched ever so slightly, his lightsaber seeming to ignite almost reflexively. Occulus tilted their head, the pale mask finally turning to look directly at the man as they analyzed him dispassionately. Arcann was a brute, favoring aggressive swings and keeping his opponent on the backfoot using sheer power. Thexan seemed to prefer a more defensive style, luring his opponents into making mistakes before crushing them.

Occulus was a competent duelist - but only competent. They would be at a disadvantage in melee, especially with Thexan there to contend with as well. In that case, Occulus would need to act first. A ripple of power went through the room as the Heir of Kallig drew upon the spirits bound to them, the ghosts forming visibly to their back and their side.

The ritual had already begun, and Occulus would be able to continue it while fighting. They would not need to stall much longer, but they would need to disorient the two, draw Arcann and Thexan out of their usual tactics in order to buy time if Occulus was to be victorious.

Occulus felt the Force, felt the shape of Arcann's thoughts for a second time, and then smiled beneath their mask. "Foolish Arcann. Weak Arcann. Unwanted Arcann. Did you wonder why your father sent Thexan on this mission but tried to hold you in Zakuul? It is because you hold no value to him. Not as a son. Not even as a pawn to be used."

Thexan drew in a sharp breath, tried to speak out to warn his brother, but Arcann did not wait. As they had anticipated, Arcann let out a roar and rushed in, leaping through the air to attack them - and immediately found himself flung back into the wall, durasteel cracking under the force. Shadows seemed to gather around him, the darkness of the chamber crushing him beneath it.

With that, Thexan's hesitation was gone and he rushed Occulus as well. Yellow blade met white, as Occulus brought their lightsaber into a block before sending a burst of lightning towards Thexan to force him back on the defensive. Thexan's charge had been enough to free Arcann however, and Occulus was forced to make a careful dance between the two.

A twist, a parry, a step to the side. Darkness caught at their feet, making even simple movement a struggle. A storm of lightning fell, scorching the chamber. Unnatural winds kicked up, swirling around them, lifting them into the air, only for them to tear their way back to the ground.

All the while, Occulus' concentration was on manipulating the Force. Another minute. If they could last a minute it would be enough. Occulus touched Arcann's mind and he swung at Thexan before realizing the truth of the illusion. The thrones that the Council once sat upon ripped down to barrage the two, forcing them to dodge back. Terror crept into their thoughts, their strikes coming slower, more hesitant with each passing moment.

Thirty seconds. It wouldn't be enough, Occulus realized. Even in the depths of rage and terror, Arcann fell into old habits working together with his brother, and their strikes were easily coordinated. A shimmering barrier of force caught a pair of strikes that would have bisected Occulus, and the Heir of Kallig frowned slightly before bursting the barrier outwards, sending Thexan skidding back even as Occulus slapped Arcann's saber aside with her open palm, channeling the heat, the energy, through her and converting it, lightning lancing out to burn along the boy's face. Occulus would fall here, but the Heir of Kallig could at least ensure that their enemies did not emerge unscathed.

Twenty seconds. It wouldn't be enough for what Occulus had originally planned. However, plans can be adjusted. It would not be ideal, but it would be functional. Occulus closed their eyes, burning through the spirits, crushing their existence one by one as she bound the last of their power into herself. Arcann screamed, raising his arm to keep the lightning from his face.

Ten seconds. Arcann screamed, as the flesh seared from his bones. Arcann screamed and Occulus smiled as she flayed him for his arrogance. Occulus smiled, her head quiet for the first time since she had first bound Lord Ergast. Then, Thexan's saber pierced through her, finding her heart.

With a final spiteful laugh at the twins, her spirit abandoned her flesh and her robes fell empty to the floor.

She would not be able to direct where she went. She had not had the time for that. Occulus had bound her spirit, much as she had once bound so many other Sith Lords. It would, in time, find a host, even if she was unsure as to who it would be. So, she would simply have to trust in the Force to carry her to safety. Her body would expire, but her spirit would remain whole.

* * *

It was too much. The locker pressed in tight around me. The pungent stench of the waste that Emma, Sophia, and Madison had left in my locker combined with the acrid aroma of my own puke, leaving me nauseous. I wanted to vomit again. I wanted to scream again. I wanted to pound on the walls and break my way out.

I can't.

My stomach was empty. My voice had gone hoarse from screaming, little more than a croak escaping me. The walls didn't budge and only seemed to close down even closer every time I pushed on them. The darkness pushed in and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

A laugh drifted by from outside the locker. Sophia, I think. I can't make out the words. I can't make out the words, but I still know what she's saying. It's the same sort of thing she's been saying for two years now, afterall. _Look at Taylor. What a loser. What a weakling. Why is she even still here? Can't she tell she's unwanted? She should just kill herself already and spare us the effort._

I bite back a sob. I bite back a scream. I ignore the tears running down my cheeks. I won't lose. I won't lose. I won't let _Sophia Hess_ of all people break me. I won't-

Something crawls along my neck and the sob escapes me.

I can't do this anymore.

Two years. I had put up with them for _two years._ Every taunt, every piece of stolen homework, every time I had been shoved around in the hallway; I had raised my head and ignored them, intent on being the better person, on maintaining some sort of moral high ground.

Well, the high ground had done me jack shit. It just meant that they kept escalating, trying to get a rise out of me. I couldn't do it anymore. I needed to escape. I needed to punch their faces in. I needed to run away and hide. I needed to dump juice over Madison and leave her soaking in the hallways. I needed to leave this school and never come back. I needed to push Sophia down the stairs. I needed to put a gun in my mouth and end all of this. I needed to hold Emma down and choke her until she begged for forgiveness.

I needed to know why Emma had suddenly betrayed me two years ago.

I try to scream again, but it sounds more like a whimper.

I felt as though I was barely holding onto consciousness. I couldn't let myself drift off. I knew somehow that if I fell unconscious, I might never wake again. That I would die here, trapped in my own locker, mired in human waste. I wouldn't let myself die. I would beat them. I would be stronger them. I wouldn't let myself die.

Whatever it took.

Pain shot through my head. My vision was suddenly a whirl of color as galaxies spun past. Stars spun out to infinity and collapsed in turn. Life expanded out to infinity and collapsed in turn. I was surrounded by anger and apathy and love and hate and kindness and cruelty and elation and dismay and satisfaction and regret. A single person was the Universe writ small. The Universe was a single person writ large. The cosmos turned unheeding of our actions. The cosmos ached with our every hurt.

A pale girl is being beaten, shackles keeping her tied to a wall. Lightning lances towards a pillar and a woman's chains are broken. A youthful woman turns and her visage withers into a hag's. A proud, arrogant man crawls away, a spineless coward in the end. Darkness swirls over a world and leaves it barren.

Image after image spun through my mind, faster than I could comprehend. A scream escaped me, uncaring of the damage it did. Fingers scratched at my face, uncaring of the damage it did. I slammed my body against the locker, desperate to get out, uncaring of the damage it did.

Light appeared in front of me.

And then there was only darkness.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I woke to a faint beeping. It didn't sound like my alarm clock. It was too quiet. Too regular.

I was hearing a heart monitor, I realized.

I let out a soft sight. I was in a hospital then. I suppose it must have been night, since the room was dark. I shivered, biting down on my lip to keep the scream from escaping me. I wasn't in the locker anymore. Just because it was dark didn't mean that I wasn't safe. I was in the hospital. I was safe. I was safe. I was-

I can't keep the whimper from escaping me this time, but at least it isn't a scream.

I take deep breaths, trying to force myself to calm down. I'm alright. I'm still alive. I'm safe.

The lie isn't even convincing in my own head.

I try to sit up, only to fall back with a small groan. My whole body aches. I jump however, when my groan triggers a scramble of noise at my side, and I pull back, ready to lash out. It's the voice that stops me. "Taylor! Oh thank God, you're awake. You're awake."

"Dad." A voice escapes me, so small I hardly recognize it as my own, and I'm soon engulfed in a hug. I smile and close my eyes, letting myself lean into him. _I was safe._

I clung to him for a long time, just shivering in his arms. His arms are solid and steady and more than anything, warm. His voice is as choked as my own however. "I'm so glad you're awake. They said - They said it was touch and go for awhile."

Touch and go. A euphemism common to doctors, a way to easily say that a patient might not make it. I'd nearly died there in that locker. I squeeze my eyes shut. Sophia, Emma, and Madison had nearly killed me. I took a shuddering breath. "How long?"

"You've been asleep for nearly a week now, Taylor. I thought - Nevermind. I'm just glad you're okay now."

"Yeah." I let myself slump back into the bed. "I'm okay now." A week. They'd taken a week from me. A week later and my body still ached. The darkness suddenly crushed down on me again, like I was back in that locker. I bit down on my lip, fighting back the shame that rose in me. I shouldn't be embarrassed. I shouldn't feel weak because of this.

I blinked back the tears and asked quietly, "Dad? Could you turn the lights on?"

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

Apparently, I had beaten myself bloody trying to get out of the locker. There had been a very real fear of infection and toxic shock with all the shit that had been in the locker, but apparently I got lucky and whatever antibiotics they put me on did their job.

I got lucky. I wasn't dead. Just a few more bruises and scratches for the Trio to laugh at me over.

My Dad was out in the hallway yelling - at someone from the school from the sound of things, but I really couldn't bring myself to care right now. It wouldn't make a difference in the end. It wouldn't change anything. I shifted and tried to stifle the groan that came in response. It still hurt to move, enough that I was more or less confined to bed.

A bitter laugh escaped me. I was trapped. In this hospital. In that school. In my life.

My Dad's voice rose in pitch, obviously unhappy with whatever he was hearing. I simply shook my head and tried to shut out the sound of him yelling. Dad yelling at Blackwell or whoever else might be out there just brought back thoughts of school, and that made me think of the locker, and then I was trapped again, the walls closing in on me, the stench causing me to gag. I couldn't move, couldn't escape, couldn't breathe -

I choked and forced my panic back down. The faces of Emma, Sophia, and Madison loomed in my mind and I clawed them back as well.

I wouldn't let them control me. Not anymore.

I felt my nails dig into my palm. I winced, the pain throbbing in time with the rest of my body. But it helped clear my head. I forced any thoughts of Madison, Sophia, and especially Emma out of my head and simply… focused on my breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

A minute passed like that. Slowly, I began to feel some unseen tension unravel itself from my shoulders.

My Dad's voice had gone quiet outside, but he hadn't returned to the room. For all his short temper, he never wanted me to see him angry. He always tried to stay out of sight when he blew up like this. It's not like I couldn't figure it out when he did though. So he probably wandered off down the hall, to get a drink from a vending machine. Give himself time to cool down.

I leaned back, idly watching a fly buzz around the room as I waited for Dad to return. I made a small game of predicting which way it would go. Left, down, right. Onto the TV. I can't say it made for particularly enthralling entertainment, but it did serve to pass the time at least. As it turns out, flies are actually kind of predictable.

The fly lifted itself off the TV and I waited until it came close to me to reach up and swat it out of the air. It changed paths, dodging out of the way, and I just barely clipped it, the bug barely even disturbed by my attempt to hit it. It flew a circle over my head and I scowled up at it.

I heard the door click, and turned my attention back down as my Dad stepped into the room with a tired sigh. "Hey Kiddo. Sorry if I was a bit loud out there. How're you doing in here? Need me to grab anything for you?"

"No, I'm good, I think. Supposed to get discharged tomorrow anyways, right? No point in bringing in extra stuff now."

"I suppose not." He gave me a weak smile and sat down next to me. "Did Emma swing by while I was gone? I thought I saw her for a second when I was coming back."

Darkness pressed in on the corners of my vision, memories of the locker returning. I pushed it back down, careful to keep it from reaching my face. "...No. She didn't. It was probably someone else, Dad."

"Oh." Dad paused for a long moment, the silence stretching out. I was tempted to break the silence. To reach out and reassure him that things would be alright. I didn't.

When he spoke again, it was with a quiet, serious tone. "Listen, Taylor, I've been talking on and off with Principal Blackwell. They've offered to cover your hospital bills, but… We'd have to drop any possibility of a lawsuit against the school."

I felt my gut clench. So that was it. The school did the minimum amount possible and got off free, all because we couldn't afford to pay for my treatment. Hell, we couldn't really afford the lawsuit either. We'd go broke before it was over and there wasn't any guarantee that we would even win. I didn't even really have the grades to try and get a transfer to another school anymore, since the Trio had been sabotaging my work for so long.

"We don't have to take the deal if you don't want to, Taylor. We can find some other way to make things work."

I pause, stifling the urge to say that it was fine, to take the deal, on my tongue. I wasn't entirely sure why. It was just one more humiliation from Winslow on top of everything else, wasn't it? Nothing I couldn't take. But…

_Would I simply return to being a slave?_

* * *

Author's Note:

This story is actually an archive of a quest that I am running. If you're interested in participating in the quest itself, it has threads on the SpaceBattles, Sufficient Velocity, and Questionable Questing forums.


	2. Slave 1-1

The graveyard had a certain kind of peaceful stillness to it, I decided.

It was never easy coming here. It brought too many memories of Mom. Too many memories of better times. Still, right now I needed this. Needed to see her, even if it was just her grave.

It's not like I thought she was actually listening. Our family wasn't really all that religious, after all. But, I suppose this wasn't really about her in the end. It was about me, about letting myself have some measure of peace after all the fucked up shit that had been going on in my life.

I let out a slow breath as I slowly sat down, just staring at the slab of rock, not quite sure what I should say.

I'm not really sure how much time passed like that. Just me sitting there, staring at the headstone, the world silent and still around me.

I finally got up and left.

In the end, I hadn't said anything.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I idly tapped a pencil against the paper and scowled. Truly, Algebra II was the most perfidious of school subjects.

Okay, so it wasn't _that_ bad, really, but I was still annoyed with having to work on it at the moment. It's not like a teacher was even expecting me to turn it in or anything. It was just busy work that I had saddled myself with. Still, there was a good chance of having to take placement tests if my Dad managed to get me a transfer, so it was probably better if I was prepared.

It didn't make it less annoying though.

My eyes drifted across the desk, my attention span spent for the moment. I had ultimately decided to tell Dad to turn down the settlement, to fight things out in court. I'm not sure it was right decision. By all rights, if the system was in any way Just, we should be able to nail the school for what had happened on their watch.

But when had the system ever proven to be Just when I was concerned?

Even if we won the suit, it would take months at the minimum, and Dad had to figure out how to pay off both my hospital bills and whatever fees the lawyers charged him in the meantime.

I bit down on my lip. Was I being selfish by insisting on this? Dad was already stressed enough without me making him fight for his bullied daughter on top of everything else.

My eyes wandered to the corner of the desk, where a picture sat. Me, Mom, Emma, and Anne, all together. All smiling. I'd put almost all of my pictures of Emma into a shoebox that I'd stuffed into the back of my closet, but this one I'd kept out. I'd told myself that it was because it was a picture of Mom.

For a brief second, I wanted nothing more than to smash the frame it was in and tear both it, and every picture in that shoebox to shreds.

Then, the second passed and I pushed the impulse down. I wouldn't let Emma control me. I wouldn't give her that sort of satisfaction, not even in the confines of my own mind. No, even if it puts some strain on Dad, I would fight her and the school for what they had done to me.

We were still broke, but maybe I could look into getting a part time job or something to help out? It was worth looking into, at least.

I let out an aggravated sound and threw on a jacket. I'd spent enough time brooding this morning.

I got a full blast of cold, January wind as I stepped outside. I grimaced, locking the door behind me. It'd been a relatively warm January this year, which is to say that the dusting of snow we'd gotten over the weekend had mostly melted by this point, and there was only the occasional roadside puddle or smattering of salt to show for it.

It was still colder than I really felt comfortable walking about in, but I pushed past that annoyance and set out at a run. This is the other way I'd been spending my time since getting out of the hospital. I'd decided that I was tired of getting pushed around by Sophia, so I was working on getting stronger. Right now, that mostly meant running, but I figured I could ask Dad about getting self-defense lessons in the future.

It was honestly a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sure, the first day I was a sweaty mess and my heart felt like it was trying to rip it's way out of my chest. Despite having been so terrifically out of shape though, I'd shaped up surprisingly fast. It'd only taken a few days for me to run the distance the library comfortably, and I'd quickly been expanding my range.

A small part of me wondered if maybe I was getting in shape _too_ quickly. It's not like I was upset with the results though, and maybe I'd just been pushing myself harder than most people did. I had more reason than most people, after all.

The library came into view across the street on the left and I ignored it and kept going. A fierce grin stretched along my face as I sprinted into the wind, my hair flowing out behind me. I'd never really been much into exercise of any sort before, but right now I could understand why people like Sophia joined track. There was something freeing about just focusing on the here and now and letting your cares fall away as you run.

I turn a corner. The pedestrian signal up ahead is blinking, a warning that it would be unsafe to cross soon. There should still be enough time for me to make it if I hurry though. I rush into the crosswalk and-

\- A car flies through the intersection, running the red light. I notice it too late, I'm too far into the intersection. I manage a scream as three thousand pounds of metal crash into me -

\- I stop, a few feet into the crosswalk, and a car flies through the intersection, running the red light. I notice it, but it's still moving too fast, and I'm not sure I'll be out of the way in time and - I fall and hit the sidewalk, the car barrelling past. A moment later, I hear a siren as the police follow on the driver's heels.

I stare at the intersection for a long moment. What had happened there? By all rights, I should be dead. I'd seen myself die. I let out a small, shuddering breath.

"Hey, you okay there?"

I look up at the voice - a young girl, clad in green, a visor protecting her face. Vista, one of Brockton Bay's Wards. I scramble to my feet, trying to ignore the heat suffusing my face and the bruises on my ass. "Uh. Yeah, I'm alright."

Real smooth.

"Glad to hear it. I was worried for a second that I might not have gotten to you in time. It was a pretty close call, even with my power." She smiled and stuck her hand out. "I'm Vista, by the way."

"I seem to be having a lot of those these days." I try to hold back my grimace and instead take her hand. "Taylor. Do you need to go catch that guy, or…?"

"Nah, the BPD's already got him, it sounds like." She paused and then carefully asked, "Hey, so where were you off to in such a rush? Shouldn't you probably be in school right now?"

"Er. I was just sort of running. For exercise, you know." I glanced away, the blush in my cheeks returning full force. Could there be anything more humiliating than having a Ward catch me for truancy? Maybe if it was somehow one of the Trio who did. "I'm sort of in the middle of a transfer between schools, so I'm still waiting for that to go through."

"Oh. So… what school are you transferring to?"

"Arcadia." Vista looked like she was holding back from asking the obvious question. I didn't really want to talk about it, but… Well, I'm sure it'd be over the news soon enough. "You'll probably hear about Winslow getting hit with a criminal negligence case before long."

"Er. That sucks, I guess? For you, I mean." Vista floundered for a moment before settling on the safe choice. "But hey, I'm supposed to start at Arcadia in the Fall. So I guess I'll probably see you there? Except, I guess, you won't know it's me, secret identity and all."

I couldn't resist sporting a small smile at Vista's babbling. "I suppose I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled for a cute Freshman then."

Vista's visor concealed the upper half of her face, but I could still _feel_ the rolled eyes. "Yeah, sure, if that's enough to give me away you probably deserve to know my identity. Anyways, I've got to get going, but feel free to shoot me a message on PHO sometime if you want to talk."

I managed to get out, "Sure, talk to you later," before space warped and she was standing on the roof across the street instead. She waved, and then space warped again and she was gone.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

The graveyard sat still and quiet once again.

I wasn't entirely sure why I'd come here in the wake of running into Vista. Maybe I just needed some reassurance. Regardless, I closed my eyes and leaned against the headstone.

"Hey Mom."

She still wasn't there to listen. I still didn't know what I wanted to say. So instead, I just sat there, listening to the wind. It shuddered through the trees in uneven bursts, kicking up and then dying down.

Wild. Still.

In. Out.

My breathing matched the wind, and I moved in time to it. Or maybe it moved in time to me. I was a part of the world, but it was also a part of me.

I smiled slightly. This sort of pseudo-philosophical thing wasn't like me. But right now it felt right. Right now it felt as though the entire world were some vast lake, and though I was but a drop of water in it, my movement would cause ripples that affected everything else.

Or perhaps, instead of a lake, it was a web, a tapestry of threads all connecting to one another. Tentatively, I reached out and pulled on one of those threads, feeling it vibrate. It was a fascinating, if somewhat meaningless feeling. This was, after all, just some picture my mind had cooked up while letting it drift.

I opened my eyes.

A small pebble was floating in front of me.

* * *

I leaned my head against the wall, letting the hot water wash over me, easing the small aches and pains from the morning. I'd started incorporating push ups and crunches into my morning routine, and while my body was quickly adapting, it was still in the stages where I felt mostly sore afterwards. Still, it was nice to see the subtle tone of muscle building on my legs, the small paunch I had slimming into flatness. If it was happening abnormally fast, well, maybe it was a side-effect from having powers now? You didn't see very many fat superheroes, after all.

I felt my lips curl up into a small smile. I had powers now. I hadn't figured out how to _do_ much of anything with them yet, but I had powers now. I wouldn't be useless anymore. I wouldn't be _helpless_ anymore.

I closed my eyes, focusing on that feeling I'd felt back in the cemetery. A ripple in the lake. A web of threads, running through everything, connecting everything together. But it was more than that, wasn't it? It was energy, pure and untamed. It was motion and light and life itself.

_It was Power._

I knew it instinctively. Even though I hadn't managed to do anything with it yet, I knew there was so much potential there. And there was more there than I even saw. I could feel it, like it was on the tip of my tongue. The tip of my brain. _Variations on a single theme. Different expressions of a single form._

Sighing, I shook my head, pulling away from the contemplation of whatever it was that my powers let me sense, and shut off the water that had long since gone cold. Gooseflesh pebbled my body and I quickly pulled a towel around myself to ward off the shivers running through me. Right. I'd have to try and avoid getting that immersed in things while in the shower. Especially in the middle of January.

I stepped out of the shower, drying my feet off as I went, before moving to the sink to plug the blow dryer in. Idly, I looked up into the mirror.

A stranger looked back at me.

I recoiled, a shout escaping me as my back hit the wall. I sat there for a long moment, breath escaping in short little gasps, before picking myself up to look at the mirror once again. My face looked back at me. The same thin face, too-wide lips, and large eyes as always.

A strangled laugh escaped me. I really must have been distracted to panic over nothing like that. It was a mirror. Who else would ever be in it other than me?

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

The graveyard laid quiet and still, as it had each time I had visited previously.

I wonder why it didn't see more visitors. It wasn't like the place was run down. Maybe death was just too common in Brockton Bay. People were too inured to it, to spend time thinking on the deceased. It's not like I could blame them. It took my near death to start visiting again.

Maybe I should invite Dad to come here with me.

I settled down next to Mom's grave, closing my eyes. It came a bit easier to me each time I did this. I saw that energy, that motion, that force that drove the Universe just a bit faster, felt it react just a bit quicker. I reached out, tugging ever so gently upon it, and opened my eyes.

A pebble floated in front of me. I pulled on it. Left. Down. Up. Right. I tried to keep it's motions smooth, responsive to my touch, but each movement came in little bursts of speed, jerking about before coming to just as sudden a stop.

I frowned and tried to focus on making it move in a slow circle. The pebble slammed into my forehead.

I let out a yelp of pain, slapping a hand to my forehead, and the pebble fell to the ground. I glared at it for a long moment before slowly making it rise once again.

* * *

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**Private message from Vista:**

**Littleowl BB:** Hello there. This is Taylor. We ran into each other the other day and you said it would be fine to message you on PHO?

**Vista:** Oh! Hi!

**Vista:** Honestly, I wasn't sure you would take me up on that.

**Littleowl BB:** I hope I'm not bothering you?

**Vista:** Not at all.

**Vista:** How've you been though? Everything with the transfer going okay?

**Littleowl BB:** I've been alright. I'm supposed to be taking placement tests on Wednesday.

**Vista:** You'll have to let me know how you do. :)

**Littleowl BB:** I should hope that the results will be halfway decent with the amount of preparation I've been doing.

**Vista:** Well, you should have your English essays down at least, if that's how you normally write.

**Littleowl BB:** What?

**Vista:** "I should hope that the results will be halfway decent"

**Vista:** It's a very… fancy way of talking.

**Vista:** Taylor?

**Littleowl BB:** Should I try to tone down how I write?

**Vista:** No! It's a little unusual, but there's nothing wrong with that.

**Littleowl BB:** Okay.

**Littleowl BB:** Do you mind if I ask you a cape related question?

**Vista:** Sure? Why wouldn't I?

**Littleowl BB:** I kind of figured that you probably got enough of that without random internet friends pestering you as well.

**Vista:** Oh. Well, go ahead and ask. I can always tell you to stop if I do get annoyed.

**Littleowl BB:** What made you decide to join the Wards after you discovered that you had powers?

**Vista:** Honestly? I didn't.

**Vista:** I told my parents about my powers and they decided that the Wards were the best place for me. My opinion at the time didn't factor in much.

**Littleowl BB:** Would you have rather stayed as an Independent?

**Vista:** Or maybe a villain. ;)

**Littleowl BB:** Well, that's a terrifying thought.

**Vista:** Haha. But really, I always wanted to be a Hero, so I probably would have wound up here anyways. It just would have been nice if it had been my decision instead of my parents'.

**Littleowl BB:** I think I get that. Do you like the Wards at least?

**Vista:** Yeah, they're pretty great. Well. Mostly.

**Littleowl BB:** Mostly?

**Vista:** I probably shouldn't talk about it. PR doesn't like when we say anything that could reflect badly on the Protectorate.

**Vista:** Have to present a united front and all that.

**Littleowl BB:** That sounds really annoying.

**Vista *New Message*:** It definitely can be at times.

...

I turned away from the computer screen and drummed my fingers on my desk. I had hoped that talking with Vista would help me what to do, but it ultimately just left me with more questions.

Should I join the Wards?

Vista didn't outright say it, but it sounded like there was still a good bit of teenage drama involved there. Besides, more than wanting the title of 'Hero,' I wanted to make a difference, to actually help people. If I was constantly being hamstrung by the Protectorate's PR department or being sent out for photo shoots, then how much would I actually be helping?

Should I tell my Dad that I had powers?

Vista had told her parents and they had taken the choice away from her. I'd like to say that Dad would be different, but I could see him forcing me into the Wards as well, if he thought it would keep me safer.

I let out a frustrated breath, glaring down at the World History books sitting on my desk. I suppose the two decisions were connected. If I wanted to join the Wards, then I would have to tell Dad. If I didn't want to join the Wards, then I couldn't tell Dad.

A knock came from downstairs, interrupting my brooding. It was probably for the best. I wasn't really getting anywhere like this. I pushed my chair out, ignoring the sound as it scraped against the floor and headed downstairs.

The knock came again, a bit quieter this time, and I yelled out, "Coming!" as I jogged my way down the stairs. I wondered who it could be, really. It was too early for Dad to be off work, and I couldn't think of anyone else who would come visit. Maybe it was the mailman with a package for Dad or something. I undid the lock and pulled the door open, only to stare as I saw who it was.

"Hi Taylor."

I froze. I think I might have even stopped breathing. For a long minute I just stood there inside the doorway before finally croaking out, "What do you want, Emma?"

"Can I come in?" Emma Barnes, my once best friend smiled tentatively up at me, her red hair catching the afternoon light. She wore just enough makeup to accentuate her features, tight clothes hugging close to her curves. She was beautiful in every way that I wasn't.

I try to reach out, to feel my powers, to try and feel if this was some sort of trap, if Madison and Sophia were just waiting around the corner somewhere, but all of it kept slipping away from me. My thoughts were too scattered, unable to focus in the face of Emma suddenly showing up at my house. I do my best to glare at her, and I think I manage decently from the way she flinches back for a second, before asking in the firmest voice I can manage, "What do you want, Emma?"

"I just… Can we talk, Taylor?"

I felt my body tremble. With rage, I told myself, not terror. I almost even believed it for a second. Emma was here, invading my last sanctuary. "No."

"Please? It won't take long."

I wanted to tell her to get lost. I wanted to slam the door in her face. Instead, I bit out, "Fine. You have five minutes."

I stomped my way back to the kitchen, shoving the door open and letting it bang off the wall, before yanking out a chair to drop down in, only to nearly miss as I hit the corner of the seat. My bruised ass complained, but I wasn't about to show weakness. A moment later, I heard another chair scrape along the floor as Emma sat across from me.

The silence stretched. Twenty seconds. Forty. A minute. It was awkward, but if she wanted to waste the time I had given her, I wasn't going to stop her.

Finally, Emma spoke up. "I'm sorry."

My lips thinned. "For what? Finally doing something that you couldn't just cover up, Emma?"

"No, I - You weren't supposed to get hurt, Taylor. Sophia said she would go back and let you out after a couple of minutes. It was just a stupid joke."

I felt something inside of me go still. I'd heard a lot of people talk about 'seeing red' or burning up with rage, but if anything, I felt cold right now. A sort of crystal clear clarity had sharpened my thoughts. "A stupid joke." My voice came out flat, but I couldn't bring myself to care about being more emotive for Emma right now. "You put me into a coma for a week, Emma. The doctors said I came close to dying. What about that is a joke to you?"

Emma bit down on her lip. "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"I just - Look, that's not the point! I didn't want to actually hurt you, Taylor."

"Really? Because you've spent the last two years finding ways to hurt me, Emma."

I saw her wince at that. On some level I wanted to believe it. That even if the locker was what it took, I would have my best friend back again. But I knew it was too good to be true. Oh, sure, she might feel guilty right now. That would fade in time though, and then we'd just be back to where we were before.

I cut in before she could try to come up with an excuse. "Why did you come here, Emma? Why now?"

"I... I heard that you were getting a transfer to Arcadia."

"Yeah, I am. Why should it matter to you? How did you even find out?"

"Uncle Danny's been over talking to my Dad about the lawsuit. Trying to get advice."

My blood ran cold at that. I hadn't told Dad who was responsible for me being in the locker. Dad had been going to Alan for help because I told him to fight the school instead of taking a settlement. If I told him now… Dad would storm over to yell at Alan, Alan would fight back to defend his daughter, and we would probably lose the lawsuit.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "You do not get to call him that. Not anymore, Emma."

She frowned at that, her brow furrowing for a second before smoothing itself out again. "If you say so Taylor. Look, I heard about how bad off you were in the hospital, and that you were transferring away, and I just… I knew this might be my last chance to try and talk to you. To not leave things the way they've been."

I stared at her for a long moment. She hadn't been happy that I had put that distance there and had immediately moved to say something that she knew I would want. Slowly, deliberately, I replied, "You mean, you didn't want to risk that I would escape you."

"No! God! Why are you always so difficult?! I meant what I said! I'm trying to apologize, but you always have to make everything into a fight!"

I flinched, something instinctive in me shrinking back at the sound of Emma yelling. Like I was just waiting for something bad to happen. That didn't make sense though. Emma had never used _yelling _to hurt me. Her barbs were always more targeted than that.

She took a deep breath before continuing, "It's the same thing with Sophia! If you'd fought back against her or submitted like a good little minion, she wouldn't have given you a second glance! But no! You always have to pull this stubborn bullshit where you act like you'll just weather out the storm, and that makes you a target for her! Something she has to fix!"

I saw red. So she wants to blame Sophia, does she?

How dare she? How **dare **she? Sophia wasn't the one who went around telling the school I was a bigot, a whore, and a druggy every day. Sophia wasn't the one who turned things around and got me in trouble every time I tried to report the Trio for doing something to me. Sophia wasn't the one who knew how much my Mother's flute mattered to me or how I cried myself to sleep after she died. **Sophia **didn't use twelve years of friendship against me.

"Get out."

"No, just listen to me-"

"**Get. Out."**

My heartbeat drummed in my ears, drowning out whatever Emma had to say. My body shook, and I was certain that it was rage this time, as the house shook with me. Cabinets and drawers rattled, opening and slamming shut. I squeezed my hands tight, my nails biting deep into my flesh, and I heard something shatter behind me.

"Taylor? What's going on?!" Emma's voice shook, eyes wide in sudden terror, and she stumbled backwards, her chair falling to the ground. "Taylor? Please stop, I didn't mean to upset you, I didn't mean-"

A plate flew and shattered against the wall, near Emma's head this time and she finally stopped talking. That was the final incentive she needed as she ran for the door, tearing her way out of the house.

I let her go. I didn't care anymore. I just drew my legs up to my chest and lowered my head to cry into my knees.

My Dad found me there hours later, shivering in the cold. The front door still hung open, and broken plates still lay scattered about the floor. I told him the story about Emma coming over in halting sentences, though I explained the plates as my having physically thrown them.

I'd certainly been angry enough.

Through it all, a cold worry wormed its way through my gut. Emma knew I had powers. Emma of all people. If I ever tried to debut as a cape, she'd be able to hold my identity as her own personal blackmail. Hell, even if I didn't become a cape and just kept to myself, she could still sell my identity to one of the gangs if she felt like it.

I was fucked, plain and simple.

I debated telling my Dad that I had powers now, but then he pulled me into a hug, let me cry into his shoulder, and I could feel the guilt and anxiety rolling off of him. He thought it was his fault for not being here. He thought it was his fault for not noticing that Emma and I had become distant. He thought it was his fault for not noticing the bullying.

Telling him about my powers would just make him worry more. It would just add to his burden. I couldn't do that.

I eventually pulled away from him. "Sorry Dad. I just - she said she came to apologize and to try and help out with everything going on, but I just got so angry with her."

"Shh. It's okay. I don't blame you for being angry at her, she probably deserves a good yelling at, all things considered." He paused, and then his voice turned wry. "I probably would have preferred if you hadn't broken our plates though."

A hiccuping sort of sound escaped me, half laughing, half crying. He still didn't actually know that Emma was responsible for everything. He probably just thought that Emma had grown distant and was blaming herself for not protecting me or some bullshit. "I'll try to avoid breaking any more in my future rampages."

"Future rampages? I'm not sure humanity will last." I gave a small grin in response and my Dad went quiet for a moment. It gave me the chance to simply relax into his arms, to stop worrying and simply allow my mind to slowly turn over what had happened.

I needed to get better at using my power. I needed to actually be capable of controlling it.

_And if Emma did use my secret against me?_

A strange knot untied in my stomach as I planned how to deal with my once best friend.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"And time's up."

I stretched, setting my pencil down. With this, I had finished the last of my placement tests.

"If you bring your test up, I'll take it and you can be on your way, Taylor. Or, if you'd prefer, you can wait a few minutes while I grade it, and hear your score ahead of time."

I handed my paper off to the teacher that had been assigned to proctor me and quietly said, "I'd prefer to wait, if that's okay, Mr. Harrison."

"Of course. Just a minute then."

I nodded and sat back down, the class going quiet apart from the quiet scritch of Mr. Harrison's pen and the occasional shuffling of papers. I suppose I had been lucky that my last test was almost entirely multiple choice - it made it quick to grade.

Finally, Mr. Harrison shuffled the papers back into order, and looked up at me. "Alright, that's that. You've done excellent in just about every category, Taylor. I don't think you have anything to worry about regarding your placement."

I was safe. I'd had a hidden fear that I would somehow screw this up and end up back at Winslow. That tension unraveled and I smiled in response.

"One more thing before you go. The teachers weren't exactly briefed about you, but rumors do still have a way of getting around. If anyone bullies you the way they did at Winslow, I want you to know that you can come to us. We will listen."

"I um." I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, trying to ignore how my eyes went blurry. "Thank you."

"Please enjoy the rest of your day, Taylor."

I smile and nod in response. Maybe things really would be different here.

* * *

Author's Note:

Whew. I think the reaction to this one should be interesting. I originally wrote a version of the Emma scene for the aforementioned Blind!Taylor version of this fic. Emma having an actual legitimate moment of remorse is probably easier to believe when she's permanently crippled Taylor in a way that outright reminds of her time in the alleyway. That said, this Taylor came out of the locker a lot worse off than she did in canon, so it's still somewhat plausible, I think.

Assuming, of course, that you believe her when she says she is legitimately remorseful and it isn't just an act.

During the shower scene, I used a few descriptions of the Force that were inspired by Peace is a Lie, by inwardtranscience. It's a pretty good one-shot of a Sith Inquisitor. My use of Darth Occulus differs quite a bit from theirs, but it's still a good read if you care to take the time.


	3. Slave 1-2

I woke up to the taste of bile at the back of my throat. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I try to cling onto and remember the last fragments of an already quickly fading dream. There had been something there. A memory of an imagination. I push myself up and stumble out of bed and into the bathroom, ignoring the sudden sense of vertigo.

What a way to start my first day at Arcadia.

A quick shower and breakfast later and I find myself waiting at the bus stop in a set of baggy jeans and a hoodie. I guess I'd have to either get up earlier if I wanted to keep up with my exercise routine or start going after school instead. A few other kids shuffle into the area, but there's a lot less kids getting picked up for Arcadia than there were for Winslow in this part of the city. When the bus comes, there's plenty of space to find a seat, and I end up sequestering myself in the back.

I stared idly out the window, watching the scenery go by. Something about my sleep still nagged at me, though I couldn't remember what. A dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguished and stars did wander darkling in the eternal space. I snort softly and shake my head. I was probably just overthinking things.

The bus comes to a stop and I get up, forcing a smile onto my face. Time to face the new school. This time, I was sure, things would be different. I could simply move past Emma. I could make new friends.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I picked at my food in the corner of the cafeteria. I hadn't made any new friends. A transfer student was barely even a novelty at Arcadia. I'd had a few curious questions, but my transfer hadn't coincided with any rumors about a new Ward, so interest was muted at best.

It's not that anyone was hostile or even cold, it's just that… Well, after the initial curiosity passed, everyone already had their cliques.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up and - One of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen walked past. A bombshell of a blonde, who would have given even Emma a run for her money, settled at a table, a group of girls following her like planets orbiting the Sun.

I found myself standing up, trying to swallow against a suddenly dry throat. I should go talk to her. Introduce myself. Maybe I could do something to impress her. I didn't have a lot in the way of showy talents, but I could maybe levitate something...

I flinch back. What I was I thinking? I didn't want to out myself just to make friends. But without any sort of trick, why would someone as perfect as that want to be friends with someone like me? I settle back into my chair, wiping my sweaty palms against my jeans, trying to still the shivers running through my body. My breath came in short little gasps. No matter how quickly I breathed, I couldn't seem to get enough air in.

I had to get out of here.

I fled the cafeteria, only stopping once I was sequestered in a girls' bathroom two hallways down. What was wrong with me? None of my tormentors were here. No one had spoken so much as a cross word to me all day. Yet here I was, breaking down in the bathroom.

I slammed a fist into the bathroom stall and felt a shudder run through me. How pathetic was I, that I'd been ready to give up my identity as a cape just to impress some girl I didn't even know? Why had I even? Because she had been popular and pretty? Because she had reminded me of Emma?

Maybe everything Emma had said the past two years had been true. Maybe I really was just a loser in the end. A failure. I wouldn't ever really amount to anything. I - _took a deep breath and felt the wonder of the Universe around me. If I was unhappy with my current state, then I simply had to improve myself. Power alone is not enough. It is through passion, not mere emotion, but the drive to change things, that my chains would be broken._

I blinked and stumbled out of the bathroom stall, feeling calm again. No, that wasn't right. That entire ball of ugly emotion still sat in my chest, but instead of being immersed in it, I felt strangely detached, like an outsider looking in, able to pick up and examine each emotion without being invested in them.

It made it easier, I found, to see just how strange my reaction had been. I turned the tap on a bathroom sink, washing my face as I contemplated what had happened. Why _had_ I been so eager to impress someone I hadn't ever met before? I chewed on the inside of my cheek, staring into the mirror. My face stared back, wan and pale, but there wasn't much I could do for that at the moment.

I had class to get to.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

The rest of the day went by in something of a blur. I'd been just as ignored as I had been during my morning classes. When the final bell rang, dismissing my English class, I happily started stuffing my books into my backpack, ready to get home. I needed some time to myself - to vent, to figure myself out, to figure out what I wanted to do.

Suffice it to say, I was rather annoyed when the teacher spoke up and interrupted my plans. "Taylor, could you stay behind for a bit?"

I kept myself from sighing and instead forced a smile onto my face. "Sure, Mr. Harrison. What do you need?"

"Well, a couple of things, I suppose. How was your first day here at Arcadia?"

Kind of sucked. "Fine I guess? Better than Winslow ever was, at least."

"That's good to hear. I'm sure any rough edges will smooth out as you adjust as well."

"I guess."

"By the way, were you in any clubs at Winslow?"

"Erm, no. Not really." No one would have let me join even if I had been interested. The Trio would have found a way to ruin things for them if they did. "Why're you asking?"

"Well, we try to encourage all of our students here to engage in extracurriculars. With your transfer, you kind of missed out on a lot of the various club promotions at the start of the year, so I asked one of our student ambassadors to swing by and show you around the different clubs."

"I, uh," I stared at him for a moment. He had to have gone out of his way to arrange this. It was the first day, and he'd already shown more care about my well-being than any of the teachers at Winslow had in the two years I'd gone there. If only it weren't so personally inconvenient this time. Any sort of after-school club would cut into my plans to be a hero. I tentatively asked, "I have to catch the bus though?"

"It'll be fine. We have buses that run later for students in clubs and I already called your Dad and got permission for you to stay late today."

I licked at my lips, trying to come up with another excuse, when a handsome, sandy-haired boy rapped his knuckles against the open door and poked his head into the classroom. "Hey there, hope I'm not too late."

"Not at all. Taylor, this is Dean Stansfield. He'll be showing you around today."

I looked from Dean, to Mr. Harrison, and then back to Dean. Dean simply shot a sunny smile in my direction. I sighed and resigned myself to my fate. "Alright. Good to meet you, I suppose."

"You too, Taylor. I'll do my best to keep this as painless as possible."

Mr. Harrison makes little shooing motions with his hands and I roll my eyes before following Dean out into the hallway. "I like how you don't deny that there will be pain involved with the experience."

"Taylor, I won't lie to you." Dean stared at me straight faced and didn't add anything to the sentence. After a moment, a snort escaped me, a small smile crossing my face. Dean immediately brightened at the sight of it. "But we should probably get started, it's a big school with a lot of ground to cover. Were there any clubs or hobbies that you were interested in?"

"Um. I'm not really sure what all is available, so maybe a quick run down? What club are you in?

"I'm actually in a Work Release program, so I'm probably not the best person to use as a reference unless you're planning on getting a job."

Huh, that wasn't really a terrible idea really. Between the hospital bills and the lawsuit, we were kind of strapped for cash at the moment, so getting school credit and some spending money at the same time would help a lot. Of course, even a part time job would still be a serious time commitment. I wouldn't be able to go out and do Hero stuff nearly as often.

"Anyways, there's the various sports teams," Dean continued, "Though you'd need to try out for a position with them. There's an Art club. Band, Orchestra, and Choir if you're more musically minded. There's a Literature club if you enjoy reading. There's an Engineering club - they're gearing up for their robot battle tournament at the end of the year. There's also a Computing club, but I think most of the members just end up playing games together. Drama, if you want to act; Debate, if you want to argue. And if you want to spend your time studying, there's always the Academic Decathalon."

I blink at the wave of information. "Is that, uh. Is that all of them? What the heck is an Academic Decathlon?"

"Nah, just the big ones, really; and AcDec is for the sort of people who _really_ enjoy standardized testing." He grinned at my sudden recoil. "Probably not for you then, huh?"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass on that one."

Dean let out a rich, full laugh, and I let myself smile in response. Even knowing that he was only doing this because I was his responsibility, that he probably wouldn't give me the time of day otherwise, it was still nice talking with him. That he was handsome and a bit charming didn't hurt things. Then, a familiar blonde flew around the corner and I felt my mood sour.

Literally, flew, her feet weren't touching the ground. She was beautiful and perfect, and more than anything I wanted to be her friend. Instead, I grit my teeth and strangled that desire. I knew who she was now.

"Dean!" Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl, shouted down the hallway, before barrelling into him and wrapping him in a hug that lifted him off the ground. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Dean wasn't startled; he seemed more bemused than anything by the sudden embrace by a known cape. I'm sure the quick kiss that followed it would have ended any complaints that he would have had anyways, of course. Still held up in the air, he tilted his head after a moment and asked, "What's up, Vicky?"

"I was planning to take Amy shopping and thought I'd see if you wanted to come with. Maybe grab dinner together afterwards?"

The two of them were looking into each other's eyes, lost to their own little world, so I wasn't too surprised when Dean murmured, "Sure. I'd love to go. I'm sure you'll need someone to carry the bags, if nothing else." And then he started, as he seemed to remember that he'd been escorting someone when Victoria had shown up. He glanced over at me guiltily, only for his eyes to widen as he took in my clenched jaw and shaking fists. His head _snapped_ back to looked at Victoria and he hissed out, "Vicky! Aura!"

"What?" Victoria looked confused for a moment, and then looked at me as though noticing me for the first time. A sudden flush of red invaded her cheeks and the urge to worship her slowly receded. "Oh God." Dropping Dean, she rushed over to me. "Sorry! Sorry. Most people don't get the Fear reaction to my aura."

"It wasn't fear."

"What?"

"It wasn't fear," I maintained, looking her in the eye.

She looked confused, but fortunately Dean decided to intervene. "It's fine, Vicky. Anyways, this is Taylor, she's a new transfer I was showing around. Taylor, this is Vicky, my girlfriend."

Yeah, I wasn't that oblivious. The two were pretty obviously involved. Still, I offered Victoria, a brittle smile. "Good to meet you." Then, turning my attention back to Dean, I asked, "I guess we'll do the tour of the clubs another time?"

"Oh, uh-" He shot a guilty look towards Victoria.

"I didn't realize I was interrupting things, I could always come back and grab Dean later…"

"Don't worry about it," I cut in. "It's not like there's a rush, right?"

Victoria slowly nodded. "If you're sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Have fun, you two."

She stares at me a moment longer, and then suddenly I'm the one wrapped up in a hug, floating off the ground. I'm pretty sure my eyes came close to falling out of my head, I was so surprised. I fought to keep my revulsion from showing. Not with Victoria; she had been perfectly kind and the hug felt nice, a gentle squeeze. No, it was with myself; the girl so pathetic that even a simple hug was enough to give me this sort of contentment. But then Victoria smiled up at me and said, "Alright. But I'm helping Dean give the actual tour next time," and I couldn't find it in me to do anything but nod.

Dean gave me a concerned look as Victoria set me down. "We'll talk soon, alright?"

"Sure," I shrug. He give me another look, but turns away after a moment and I watch him and Victoria leave. I guess I'd have to give some thought to the whole Club thing between now and then. For now, I walked downstairs and out of the school building, only to let out an exasperated sigh.

I'd missed my bus.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"Hey there."

"Hey yourself." Vista plopped down next to me on the edge of the roof (It had been a lot easier to climb up to than I had expected) and I gave her a small smile. She didn't return it though. "You know this is a terrible idea, right?"

"Uh. What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's one thing being internet friends, but I'm not exactly comfortable unmasking to you. That means any real-life hanging out we do would have to be with me in costume. Can't exactly go to the movies or just grab a meal like that. And that's without getting into the problems of being publicly known as a friend of a hero and how that can bite you."

"Oh. I hadn't really given it that much thought. I just… wanted to hang out, y'know?"

"I know. And I figured you probably needed to talk to someone or I wouldn't have agreed in the first place. But try to keep it in mind, Taylor."

I ignored the flush that stained my cheeks and simply nodded, before drawing my knees up to hug them to my chest. "I guess... I don't know, things have just been a bit overwhelming for me lately. Between the lawsuit and the new school and everything else." And powers, I didn't add.

"Yeah, I hear you. I was pretty withdrawn for months after I joined the Wards. Even though everyone was nice enough at the time, and I looked up to them all, it was still a lot of new people and I wasn't really able to hang out with my old friends as much any more."

"Yeah... " I went silent for a moment, staring out down the street. "...Have you ever had a friend who did something that really hurt you?"

"Um. Not really no. I mean, sometimes the other Wards will piss me off, and I wouldn't say Shadow Stalker was ever my friend, but no one really hurt me."

"Oh. I uh… She came and apologized to me recently. And part of me just wants to forgive her, to let things go back to how they used to be. But I'm not really sure that I can."

Vista shifted uncomfortably, and after a moment, just set a hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly. "I guess that's up to you, Taylor. Sometimes, it's better to just move on and let old things fade."

"I suppose." I let my attention wander for a moment, turning the issue with Emma over in my head before finally setting it down again. "Thanks for being here, Vista. It means a lot to me, and I know you didn't have to be."

She smiled in return. "Hey, what are friends for?"

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I quietly stepped into my house. There's the sound of TV coming from the living room to my left, so I guess Dad was already home. I take a deep breath, before stepping that way. "Hey, I'm home."

"Taylor!" Dad's head immediately snapped up at the sound of my voice. "I was starting to get worried. When they said they were going to ask you to stay after school, I didn't expect it to run this late."

"Oh, uh. No, that whole club thing sort of got interrupted. I was actually hanging out with a new friend of mine." Even after my emotional outpouring over Emma, Vista had hung around and chatted for awhile, and we'd eventually moved onto lighter topics. Vista had seemed especially curious about Dean showing me around the school earlier, but I guess she was at the age to want to know more about handsome boys.

In any case, she wasn't really the sort of friend I could show off to Dad, not without some awkward questions about how we met. Still, he brightened up after hearing about her. "That's great, Taylor. Everything go well?"

"Yeah, I think so." I stared at him, for another moment after that, a more important topic on my mind. I had been agonizing over whether to tell my Dad about my powers, but each time, Vista's story held me back. Even if he didn't sell me out to the PRT… Dad looked so _tired_ these days. How would he deal with having a daughter who was putting herself in danger every day, on top of everything else? I opened my mouth - and felt the words die on the tip of my tongue, as they always did. "Anyways, how was your day?"

"Oh, uh, it went pretty good, I guess. I did invite Alan and his family over for dinner on Saturday though. I'm sure you'll enjoy that. It'll be just like old times, right?"

I went still, feeling like ice water had run down my back. "Yeah."

"Just like old times."

* * *

I idly twirled my pencil between my fingers, trying my best to listen to the teacher, while keeping an eye on the ticking clock. It was easier than I expected, really. Mrs. Miller wasn't the most thrilling of teachers, but she was still more engaged than anyone at Winslow had ever been, and I didn't have to spend the entire class watching out for spitballs in my hair or girls dumping pencil shavings across my desk.

Honestly, it was even easier than when I'd been self-studying for Arcadia's placement tests. I wasn't really sure why exactly. The actual material was more difficult than what I'd been studying, and having a teacher on hand to explain it didn't actually do that much for me - I was pretty used to having to reference a textbook to get anything out of class at this point.

My mind immediately leapt to my powers, but it wasn't as though I suddenly had an eidetic memory. No, I just seemed to… learn and absorb the information better than I used to. Maybe it was just a side effect of the sort of concentration I had to put into using my powers; making my brain stronger by regularly exercising my mind.

Well, it's not like I had proof either way, and it wasn't like I was about to complain if it were the case. It just would be nice if I knew a bit more about what I could actually do. I instinctively knew that there was more to my powers than just a bit of weak telekinesis and… Well, it had to be a precog ability that had saved me from that car, right? But I hadn't really had anything like that since then, so maybe it was limited to just sensing stuff that would be dangerous to me. Even if I knew that there was more than those two abilities though, it's not like I knew what else I could manage beyond that.

I wonder if any other capes had this much trouble getting used to their powers. Maybe not someone like Glory Girl, but surely a tinker like Armsmaster had to spend the time to figure out how to make things and didn't just have everything in his head after triggering? I could only imagine how much trouble Eidolon had with his constantly changing set of powers.

On the other hand, it would be entirely typical if everyone got a handbook to go with their powers except me.

I let out a quiet sigh and glanced up at the clock again. A minute until the end of class. I started shuffling materials into my backpack.

When the bell rang, I was ready, and out the door before the rest of the class. This had been my habit for the past week - getting down to the bus stop before anyone could intercept me.

I didn't particularly like doing it. It reminded me of Winslow, of dashing out of the class so I could hide from my bullies during lunch time without being tracked down. It wasn't to avoid bullies however, no matter how much it made me think of Winslow. It was to avoid Vicky and Dean.

They had both tried to talk to me during lunch the day after Vicky had pulled Dean away for their date. They had invited me to sit with them, and instead, I gave them the cold shoulder. Since then, I'd seen them looking for me a few times, but I'd done my best to avoid their notice.

I wasn't even entirely sure why. It's not like I disliked them. It wasn't even that I was afraid of being in Glory Girl's aura. No, that wasn't true. I knew exactly why I was avoiding them. On some level, I was afraid of making friends again. That somehow, I would screw things up and everything would go the same way it had in the past.

I stepped outside and saw Victoria waiting near the bus stop, floating just high enough that she'd likely be able to see over the crowd. She spotted me after a moment and waved. I bit down on my lip before waving back.

"Hey there," she said, drifting over, "You're a hard girl to catch. I was starting to wonder if you were avoiding me."

Her tone was casual, but I could still hear the implied question, the unstated hurt. I winced and looked down. "I - Sorry, I just… I didn't have a lot in the way of friends at Winslow, and I just wasn't sure-"

Vicky's face softened, and she interrupted me by wrapping me up in a hug. I forced myself not to stiffen. God, how fucked up was I that a hug was enough to make me start looking for an escape? Vicky thankfully only held it for a moment before letting it go and pulling back. "It's fine, Taylor. I know I probably didn't make the best first impression the other day."

"No, it's not that." I sighed and ran a hand up into my hair. "It's my own hangups. Really."

"It's not me, it's you?" Vicky grinned.

There was a teasing lilt to her words, but it wasn't cruel. I gave her a smile and shrugged, "Yeah, sorry to let you down before you could even ask for a date."

"What a shame. I suppose I shall just have to content myself with Dean instead."

"He's a pretty good consolation prize, I suppose."

"He is, isn't he?" Vicky giggled softly, her gaze wandering as she presumably distracted herself thinking about Dean. She quickly refocused however, and leaned in to take my hand. "Are you ready for your tour then?"

"Are you even qualified to give me a tour? I'd think with all the Cape stuff, you wouldn't have much time to spend around the clubs."

Vicky shrugged and the two of us started walking back into the building. "You'd be surprised. I'm probably the most active member of New Wave right now, and even then, I mostly patrol in the evenings and weekends. It leaves me time to occasionally drop in on a club - though, I wouldn't say I'm a dedicated member either. These days, I mostly hang around the Literature Club so that I have something to talk to Amy about. But! I also used to play basketball before I triggered, so I could probably answer any questions you have about the sports program here as well."

"I guess they don't let superpowered people play?"

"No, though given that most capes conceal their civilian identities… I suppose it's always possible that there's a parahuman or two hiding on the teams somewhere, but I didn't get that option."

"Huh. So Literature Club then? You said your sister was a member?"

"Oh, no, she isn't. Amy usually goes to the hospital after school. But she likes to read in her off-time, so I figured I could connect with her that way."

I tilted my head, studying Vicky's face from the side. Trying to find common hobbies to connect with someone usually meant that there was some distance in the relationship - or at least, maybe Vicky thought there was. On the other hand, maybe she was just trying to be a good sister. I didn't know her and wasn't nearly good enough at reading people to tell either way.

"Anyways," Vicky continued, "Were there any clubs you were particularly interested in checking out?"

There were. I'd briefly considered the Music and Art Clubs. Music represented a connection with Mom, a chance to learn to play the flute, like she used to. Art was a more… personal connection. I'd used to enjoy drawing back before Mom died, but hadn't really touched the hobby since everything happened with Emma.

In the end, practicality won out over nostalgia. There was the possibility that I might need to build myself the occasional tool for my career as a hero. Stealing junk from the Trainyard might work get me the supplies, but it was risky, especially when I could get probably get better stuff from the Engineering Club without anyone noticing that our stock was maybe a bit lower than it should be.

I chewed on my lip, considering. Was it really okay for me to join a club just to steal their supplies? I shook my head. I hadn't committed yet. I could at least check things out.

"Let's start with the Engineering Club and go from there. Everyone loves robots, right?"

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I stepped off the bus, glancing up at the setting sun, before beginning the walk home.

The Engineering Club had been… disappointing from a purely social standpoint. It had been all boys and they'd spent almost the entire time we'd visited drooling over Vicky. Not that I could blame them too much - Vicky was definitely attractive - but it'd still been annoying, and I could easily foresee actually engaging with the club being an exercise in aggravation. Not that it mattered, I suppose, if I was just using the club to build things.

We'd visited the Art Club shortly after, but had mostly watched quietly as they worked on perspective drawing, before finally ending up at the Literature Club. Unlike the Engineering Club, the Literature Club had been almost entirely girls. Monica, Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri had all been nice girls, and it was clear that Vicky knew them pretty well from how easily she meshed into their conversation.

If I was being honest, I would probably enjoy Literature more than Engineering, but… Well, Engineering would be more useful to me as a cape, wouldn't it? Even discounting the supplies I could use, it was an actual skill I could develop. Meanwhile my knowledge of Oscar Wilde wasn't likely to help me against any supervillains.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Whatever my answer, I would have the weekend to ruminate on it. More concerning to me right now, was the fact that there was an extra car parked in our driveway.

I stepped carefully over the broken step and quietly slipped in, taking a moment to scan the house. Muffled voices were coming from the kitchen. Tilting my head curiously, I walked down the hall to peek and Alan were seated at the table, thick sheaves of papers spread out around them. Fuck. I'd forgotten this was happening today.

Dad was busy reading something, but Alan spotted me and smiled. "Hey there, Taylor."

"Uh. Hey. What's all this?"

Dad looked up, and even though he smiled, he looked bone weary. "Oh, just stuff with the lawsuit, Taylor. Nothing you need to worry about too much. Alan and I have things handled. Emma already went upstairs to wait for you in your room, why don't you go say hi to her?"

My heart clenched, but I was careful to keep it from my face. Emma, my once best friend. Emma, my tormenter. Emma, who knew my secret. I'd half-resolved to ignore her and hope she would stop trying to interact with me now that she knew I was a cape. Instead, she was here, _in my room_.

I forced a smile onto my face for Dad's sake. "Sure. I'll go do that."

The walk up to my room felt like it took longer than the entire trip from school had. I stopped in front of my door, taking a moment to just get my breathing under control. I wouldn't let Emma get under my skin. I opened the door.

Emma was there, near my desk, the light catching her red hair in a way that seemed to set it ablaze. She was holding the picture of me, her, Mom, and Anne, a strange sort of half-smile on her face. The door hit the wall with a quiet thump and Emma looked up, carefully setting the photo back on my desk. When she spoke, it was a quiet thing, a small utterance.

"Taylor."

I didn't dignify her with a response. Instead I simply closed the door behind me and set my backpack down, unloading my things while ignoring her entirely.

"Taylor. Talk to me, please. At least look at me. Don't-" Emma bit down on whatever she was about to say, grimacing slightly.

"Don't _what?_" I snapped, still not quite looking at her. "Go ahead and say what you were thinking, Emma."

Emma's lips puckered, as though she'd tasted something sour. After a moment of hesitation, her lips thinned down to a line and she said, "Don't be a coward, Taylor. Stop running away every time you're faced with something you don't want to deal with."

My nails bit into the palms of my hands and I spun to face her. "I am _not_ running away from you!"

"Yes you were, Taylor. You do this every time - you retreat into your shell and hope that by ignoring the problem it'll just go away. You never do anything to change it, never try to fight back." I squeezed my eyes shut, as though by blocking off the sight of her, I could push away her words as well. "You're doing it now. You did it the entire time we were at Winslow. You did it… You did it when your Mom died. You just hid away and nothing I did ever seemed to get through to you or help you."

I forced myself to look at Emma. There were tears in her eyes. Did that mean anything? I'd seen her fake crying to a teacher before. Her make up was more messed up now than it had been then. Did that mean it was genuine? Or was she simply more committed to the role this time? I asked, my voice little more than a quiet rasp, "So what? The last two years were supposed to 'crack me out of my shell,' or something?"

"No! Maybe. I don't know, it didn't really start that way. I was angry and Sophia had some weird hang up with you. Later on...no, even if there were reasons, it's still not an excuse for what happened."

A part of me wanted to simply hit her. She wanted me to fight back, after all. I could do that. I could give into that violent impulse that I'd spent the last two years restraining.

I strangled that part of me.

Up until the locker, I'd never really been afraid of the Trio. What could a bunch of high school bullies do, after all? I'd hated them, but I'd never truly feared them. No, I'd always feared what I would do in response if I allowed myself to lash out. I'd feared what I would become.

"But I can try to make it up to you," Emma continued. "You're a cape now. I can help you. I can help get you equipment, provide an alibi so people don't wonder where you are…"

"Emma, I can't-"

"Please, Taylor." She lifted a hand, pressing her fingers gently against my cheek. They were warm, hot even, and I flinched back from the touch. There was something bright about Emma's eyes, a fervor so intense that I couldn't believe it to be feigned. "I know you can't trust me. Not yet. Maybe not ever, even. But let me at least try to help? To show that I'll do better for you?"

I stared at Emma for a long moment. Could I believe her? She stood there, staring into my eyes, waiting patiently for my answer.

I opened my mouth to reply.


	4. Slave 1-3

_The estate was more fortress than home, carved of cold stone and metal deep within the icy depths of Ziost. I shivered, ghosting through the hallways in the oversized, threadbare robe that marked me as slave to the House of Izahra. I was tempted to call it my sole possession, but it wasn't, not really. As a slave, everything that I owned belonged also to the House I served. So I did not own my bed, I did not own my robe, and I most certainly did not own the data chip I'd hidden within the inseam of the robe's sleeve._

_It wasn't the first time I'd stolen it, or one like it. There were advantages to serving an established House with a history of Sith Lords to its name. Of course, I would still have to return it before anyone noticed it missing. Slaves who got ideas about emulating their betters were often executed._

_For all that the Empire claimed to be a meritocracy, a place where the strong rose to dominate the weak, it often wasn't in practice. The very House that she served was an example of this. Officially, there was no hereditary nobility in the Empire - the title of a Sith Lord was not something given, it must be earned. In practice, Force potential had a tendency to run through bloodlines, and these lines consolidated power and wealth over time. Their progeny had trainers in both the sword and the Force at an early age and the writings and artifacts of their ancestors to guide them. Thus, the reality was somewhat different from the propaganda, and these entrenched families looked poorly upon those who would usurp them._

_It wouldn't stop me from stealing their secrets however._

_I came to my destination and took a deep breath before punching in the access code and stepping inside. Cold stone was replaced by plush carpet beneath my bare feet, and I took a moment to glance around. The room's occupant was still asleep, which meant I could quietly return the chip without any sleight of hand this time._

_At least, that's what I had believed. As I slid the desk drawer open, a voice spoke out from behind me. "What are you doing up?"_

_I pressed my lips together for a brief moment, before turning, all signs of frustration wiped from my face. "I had errands to take care of, Sai'da. Seeing your clothes to the laundry for one." _

_Sai'da rolled her eyes. "You know that you're to help keep my bed warm until I'm ready to get up." She slowly sat up, the blankets falling to reveal her nude form. A girl on the cusp of womanhood, likely to leave for Korriban soon to either die or emerge a true Sith. For whatever reason, she'd hated wearing anything to sleep and to my great distaste, often forced a similar lack of clothes onto me whenever she chose to use me as a personal heater. _

_Despite my dislike for the arrangement, I knew I was fortunate in a way. There was nothing sexual in it to my knowledge - she'd simply been that way for as long as I could remember, since we had both been little more than children - and her position as the only heir of the house meant that few would gainsay her use of keeping me as her personal toy._

"_Not all of us have the luxury of sleeping in until midday, Sai'da." I was also fortunate in that she allowed, preferred even, a great deal of back talk from her slaves. I suspected that it wasn't out of any desire to foster actual independent thinking among her retainers, so much as it was because she enjoyed the small bit of social conflict that came with trading barbs. She wouldn't hesitate to punish a servant who truly displeased her._

"_Is that so?" She stretched and stood, shaking out her blood-red hair. Neither my eyes nor the cold of the room seemed to bother her as she made her way towards me. "I'm quite certain that you have that luxury if I say that you do. Or did you have something else you wanted to do while I was asleep?"_

"_It is the only time of day that I seem to actually get anything done," I say drolly. "Who knows? With all the time I'll have once you're gone for the Academy, I might be able to lead a successful revolution."_

"_Oh? And here I thought you would follow me to Korriban like some lost puppy."_

"_I think it would take more than a puppy to keep up with you. Besides, I thought you weren't allowed any servants at the Academy?"_

"_Oh, we aren't." Sai'da shrugged casually, before darting her hand out to close around my wrist. She yanked my arm out in front of her and casually plucked her datachip from inside the sleeve of my robe. "But then, you've been aspiring to be more than a servant lately, haven't you?"_

_She knew. I stared wide-eyed at her for a single moment, before yanking my arm back. Rather than holding me in place, she simply let go, none of the expected resistance holding me in place, and my back slammed into the wall. It wasn't an escape. She didn't need her hands to hold me. Invisible force wrapped around my neck, lifting me from the ground._

_I instinctively clawed at my neck, trying to force the invisible noose from it even though I knew it would do no good. Sai'da stared up at me with pitiless eyes and I tried to kick at her, only for her to take a single step back, effortlessly dodging my attempt. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't afford to panic. _

_I opened myself up to the Universe. I felt the connections, tying everything together. The foolish believed in separation, that everything in existence was distinct. But to the Force, all was together, all was One. Energy was Energy, one sort much like the other. It took only a minor change, and the light in the room darkened as lightning raced from my fingertips to destroy Sai'da._

_Ignoring my intentions however, she simply stepped back in, grabbing hold of my wrist and shoving my hand upwards towards the ceiling. Bereft of a target, the lightning attacked me in turn, the malice I'd infused within it racing through my nerves. When Sai'da let me collapse, freed of the noose that had been choking me, there wasn't any fight I had left to offer._

"_Well," she said, a grin spreading across her face. "It seems we shall be attending the Academy together after all."_

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"Hey there, Taylor, glad you could make it."

"Uh, yeah. Hey Monica. Is no one else here yet?"

"Nope, but I know Natsuki was saying that she wanted to prepare a surprise for our new member, so they might be busy with that."

I blinked and after a moment settled myself behind a desk. "You guys really don't have to go out of your way or anything."

"Nonsense, we're happy to have you." Monica gave me a bright smile. She was a tall girl, with brown hair swept back into a ponytail. Unlike me, she wore her height well, with none of the gangliness that led to me looking like a stick. "Oh, but Vicky did say that she wouldn't be able to make it today."

"Oh, uh. That's fine, I guess? She did mention that she only popped in occasionally."

"It's probably about fifty-fifty with her, I'd say."

I shrugged and glanced around the room, not sure what to say to continue the conversation and uncomfortable with the sudden silence. Fortunately, I was saved from my misery as the door opened and three more girls bustled in. Yuri was even taller than Monica, but moved with a sort of grace I could only hope to match as she swept in towards her seat; Sayori had none of that as she didn't walk so much as flounce in like an overeager puppy; and Natsuki was a short girl, her hair dyed pink, who came in carrying a tray of … cupcakes?

She set them in front of me before setting her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out in a pose that spoke of indomitable pride. Each cupcake was decorated with little cat faces drawn in with frosting.

Natsuki was the first to speak up and fill the silence. "So we wanted to welcome you and stuff. So we borrowed the Home Ec room to make these for you!" She stared at me for a moment, as though waiting for a response, but I couldn't find the words. She finally turned her head away, red creeping into her cheeks. "So you better be grateful!"

"I … Yeah, I really am." I bit down on my lip, forcing my emotions back down. I didn't want to cry here in front of everyone. I took a deep breath and… I felt myself detach, able to look at my sudden surge of happiness without letting it wash over me. "I really didn't expect all of this. You really didn't have to."

"Of course we didn't have to." Sayori grinned and wrapped me in a hug. "We wanted to."

Then, as she was pulling away, her hand darted out and snatched a cupcake, which promptly made its way to her mouth. "Yoink!"

"Hey! Those are for Taylor!" Natsuki scowled and slapped at Sayori's arm, but the cupcake thief just laughed, half of it still in her mouth, and started making whooping noises that made me think she was doing some sort of Three Stooges bit as she ran away.

I couldn't help but laugh with her, my pure enjoyment softening Natsuki's ire. "It's fine. There's way too much here for me to eat on my own anyways. Why don't we all have them together?"

Grins were shared all around as the cupcakes were distributed. Once everyone had settled down, Monica finally spoke up. "Okay, everybody! Let's get started."

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I walked towards my house, the evening sun casting everything into shades of red.

Literature Club had been… fun. A lot more fun than I'd honestly expected it to be. It wasn't just the social aspect, though I'd admit it'd felt amazing just being able to hang out with a couple other girls my age again. But even the club activities themselves had been interesting. Everyone had shared poetry that they had written themselves and it was… a lot better than I'd expected from a high school literature club.

The only bad part of it was… Well, I had this nagging feeling the entire time that I was forgetting about something. My thoughts kept going back to whatever dream it was that I'd had last night. The one that I'd woken from only to empty my stomach into my room's trashcan within seconds. Little remained of it in my memories besides flashes of color and heat, but there was a sense of importance there, that I somehow needed to recall it.

I let out a slow breath. It wasn't something that worrying would solve. Either I would remember it or I wouldn't.

A loud series of bangs followed me the last block to my house, a sound that any Brocktonite would recognize. The gunfire was far enough away though, that I wasn't in any danger, and I probably wouldn't be able to get there in time to help if I went towards it either. Instead, I simply continued my path, idly noting that Dad wasn't home yet as I passed our empty driveway.

I stopped as I opened the door. Dad wasn't home, but the door was unlocked. Now I realized what it was I'd forgotten. I trod my way upstairs, and stepped into my room to look at Emma lying in my bed, playing on her phone. Emma, who I'd agreed to meet up with again today. Emma, who apparently still had a spare key to our house.

She looked up at me as I entered and smiled. I ignored the conflicting feelings that stirred within me and simply set my backpack down and pulled out my desk chair to sit down, trying not to feel too good about how Emma's smile faded when I failed to return it.

"Hey Taylor. I was starting to think you'd ditched me."

I shook my head. "I had a club meeting. Arcadia likes its students to engage in extracurriculars."

"Oh. Some sort of Art club, knowing you, right?"

"Literature."

Emma flinched back, her face stricken. Was guessing my club so important to her? Was it because I was so abrupt with her? Or was there something else I was missing?

"Did you have fun at least?"

"Yeah, everyone there was pretty nice."

Emma nodded and we fell into an uncomfortable silence. I stared at her and she stared at me, both of us waiting for the other to offer something to continue the conversation. Finally, Emma licked at her lips before reaching down to pull a notebook out of her bag. "So I brought a few ideas for your whole cape thing."

"What sort of ideas?"

"Well, for one, have you even come up with a name yet? Or a costume?"

"...No, not really. I've been kind of busy."

Emma had the decency to look ashamed, but she took a deep breath and powered on. "I get that. But come on, Taylor. Your costume is going to be everyone's first impression of you, and having a good name is even more important than that."

She… had a point. Imagine talking to Armsmaster or something and not even having a good name to call myself by. It'd be beyond embarrassing.

Emma continued, "And no, I'm not letting you go out in a hoodie and jeans and act like that's an actual costume. Image matters."

I flushed. I'd only briefly considered doing something like that. I mean, it would just be a stop gap measure until I got some cash to make an actual costume. "So what did you have in mind then?"

She set the notebook on my desk and hopped up to sit next to it. "So most cape names tend to go either one of two ways, right? Either it has something to do with their powers or it's some ideal that they want to live up to."

"Sure? Where are you going with this?"

"Well, I couldn't come up with much for a telekinetic - nothing that hadn't already been taken, at least, so I thought maybe we'd look at ideal based names instead. How about Zenith?"

"Zenith?" I asked skeptically. "What am I the Zenith of?"

"Of, you know, Heroes. It's saying that you're aspiring to be the best."

"I think I'd have some serious competition in trying to overtake the Triumvirate, Emma."

"Okay fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "So not Zenith then. What sounds good to you?"

I frowned and tilted my head back, thoughts drifting back to the time a car had almost run me over. "Oracle, maybe?"

"Sounds like a precog name."

"I am a precog."

"I thought you were a telekinetic?"

"I've got both," I shrugged. "Though the precog thing is kind of hard to figure out, since it seems to mostly react when I'm in danger."

"That's… huh." Emma tapped her pencil's eraser against her lips. "Definitely not Oracle then. That's the sort of thing that should be a big advantage in a fight as long as you can keep it a secret. But maybe we can do something with the telekinesis and foresight - do a magic theme like Myrrdin. Warlock, maybe?"

I grimaced. "Sounds villainous."

I paused, letting myself mull over the issue. No, Emma had been right with her first thought. I should be aiming for an ideal, not something to do with my powers. I didn't really have an ideal, nothing that stood out. I couldn't be an icon like Alexandria or Hero. I didn't have the answers.

But I could look for them. I could search for Truth, for Justice, even when the Protectorate and the courts didn't. I could be a light in the darkness, seeking for a way to make things better.

I looked up at Emma. "Seeker."

She raised an eyebrow but jotted it down. "It's a little nondescript…"

"I'll make it work."

"Alright. Then, costume. I was thinking red and black, make you a bit intimidating."

"Vetoed. Too villainous again. Besides, those are E88 colors and that's one association that I could do without."

"Fair enough. Black and blue then?"

"You really want black, huh? A bit of a change from when your favorite was Legend. Why not white and blue? It's more immediately heroic."

Emma flushed pink. "He still is. But I think you'd look good in black. Besides, white would make you stick out like a sore thumb. It wouldn't be such a big deal if you were joining the Protectorate, but if you're going to be a vigilante, it'd be better if you can keep a lower profile, right?"

"Black's actually worse for blending in at night than you might think. Makes you into a silhouette. Maybe… a dark gray? Helps soften the image while still being harder to spot."

Emma wrinkled her nose for a moment, before sighing and nodding. "We'll want to use a couple different shades of gray at least, make layers with blues to highlight."

"I'll trust in you to keep me color coordinated," I said dryly.

"Yeah, yeah." Emma paused before adding casually, "Speaking of, did you have anything planned for next Monday?"

"No? Not really? Should I have?"

"If you don't, that's fine. I was thinking of taking you out shopping, get you some of the things you'll need for all of this."

It had been… a long time since I'd last been shopping with Emma. A pang of nostalgia swept through me, remembering how she used to pull me from store to store, always more enthusiastic about the experience than I'd ever been. "Okay, I guess. Monday's as good a time as any."

Emma smiled brightly. "Great, we'll make an evening of it."

An evening, huh? I guess that meant we were looking at more than just one or two stores. I winced ever so slightly, thinking of how thin my cash reserves would be after all of this.

"Now I've got one last thing." Emma pulled a folded up map of the Bay from the notebook and spread it out on the desk. "It won't matter too much until you've got your costume and are ready to patrol, but you need to be aware of where the gangs are at if you're going to be fighting them."

"Wait, how the Hell did you get info on where the gang territories are, Emma?"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Taylor, it's not that weird. I'm sure you know the basics of where they camp out even with how much of a shut in you are."

"Well sure, but just general ideas. You've got actual territory lines drawn here."

"Eh, you'd be surprised how much people are willing to talk in Winslow. Besides, it's just generalities. From what I hear, the lines shift all the time."

I eyed her for a moment before turning my attention back to the map. The Merchants occupied most of the northern Docks and the Trainyard. The ABB controlled the southern portion of the Docks. The E88 controlled the commercial district. And downtown… "Wait, you've even got the Protectorate marked in here like they're a gang controlling territory?"

"They basically are. Downtown and the Boardwalk are the places that get way more patrols from the heroes than the poorer parts of town. You probably won't ever see one out in the Trainyard unless they get an actual call-in."

I grimaced. That made it sound like the PRT only really cared about rich people. It probably wasn't even completely wrong. At the end of the day, they were a government organization, influenced by how tax money was being spent.

"Any thoughts on where to start?"

Emma shrugged. "The Merchants are a blight on the city and drugged out scum. The ABB is filled with violent psychopaths and are known to kidnap people. The E88 are Nazis. Take your pick. Though, the Merchants are supposed to have the weakest cape support, so probably better to start with them until you get some experience."

I nodded slowly. The Merchants were also the closest to home for me. Our house was technically in ABB territory but they didn't really bother residential neighborhoods. Dad's work with the Dockworker's Union took him a lot closer to where the Merchants were however, and they were known to cause trouble.

Emma pulled out her phone and glanced at it, checking the time. "Shit. You got back later than I thought you would. I need to get home soon."

"Mind if I hold onto the map?"

Her eyes flicked back to me and she gave me a small smile. "Sure. See you Monday?"

A part of me wondered how long this would last. When would she decide that she'd had enough of playing friends again and twist the knife instead?

* * *

I bemusedly stared around at the lurid display of paper hearts strung up around the classroom. The Literature club clearly enjoyed celebrating Valentine's Day. "You guys really went all out decorating, huh?"

"Well sure, who doesn't like a bit of romance in their lives?" Sayori chirped before taking a big slurp out of her drink. As it turned out, the Literature club liked to eat together here in the quiet of their club room rather than going to the cafeteria. I could admit it was nice once in awhile, but maybe not something I'd do every day.

"Even if Vicky is the only one of us who actually has a date tonight."

Victoria shrugged and took a bite out of her lunch. "There's still time to ask a boy out yourself, Yuri. I know there was that one you were talking about the other day-"

"Shush you. Not everyone can literally fly in to sweep their boyfriend off their feet."

I raised an eyebrow and sat down, unpacking my lunch. "Sounds like there's a story there."

"Oh, just Vicky being Vicky. You see, Dean went and got her flowers. Made a big production of giving them to her during her first period, where everyone could see-"

"Monica, we really don't need to-"

"-So Vicky ends up lifting him into the air and kissing the living daylights out of him." Monica continued, rolling over Victoria's squawks of protest. "In front of the whole class and everything. And then she told him how she was taking him on a date tonight, so he'd best be ready, and if he played his cards right-"

"Stop! Have some mercy, Monica!"

Monica pressed her fingertips together, forming a tent with her hands, and grinned at the crimson-faced superhero. "How much, exactly, is my mercy worth to you, Vicky?"

Victoria sputtered for a moment before narrowing her eyes and setting herself to bargaining. "Two bars of chocolate?"

"How about… any chocolate you receive today that isn't from Dean?"

Victoria scowled at the counter offer. I had the feeling that there was quite a bit of chocolate at stake. It made sense, at least. Even knowing that Victoria had a boyfriend, I'm sure that she had all sorts of admirers. She'd supposedly been pretty popular even before becoming a hero. Since then… well, she was famous and personable. With how beautiful she was, she seemed almost a sort of inverse of Emma, ruling Arcadia's social circles in much the same way that Emma had Winslow.

A sharp pang ran through me at the thought of Emma. I… still wasn't sure what to do with her. I still couldn't help the twisting feeling in my gut that somehow everything would turn out to be a lie, another betrayal to laugh at me over. Even worse was the fact that I wanted her back. Despite all the pain she'd put me through the last two years, a part of me was willing to forget it if I got my friend back. How pathetic was that?

By comparison… I wonder how much happier I would be if it were Victoria taking me out shopping today? My eyes focused for a moment on the sweep of her neck, how her hair seemed to shimmer in the light. I wondered how it would feel walking down the Boardwalk holding her hand, how it would feel to press my lips -

I grimaced and cut off that line of thought. I turned my attention inwards, examining my emotions, and with surgical precision, cut out the awe that had threaded itself through my mind. I liked Victoria - she seemed like a nice girl. I didn't like her in that way however. I didn't naturally have that sort of _infatuation _with her.

As usual, spending time with Victoria was a trial unto itself. Not because of her personality, but because of her power. For all that the PRT rated her as a Shaker, her emotion aura was insidious in a way that meant I had to constantly be on my guard, constantly wary of my emotions when I was around her. Otherwise, it led to slips like these. Thankfully, I'd gotten better at resisting it. It took me by surprise less often nowadays, and when it did get ahold of me, I had an easier time pushing it out. It no longer left me a shivering wreck, desperate for Victoria's approval, the way it had the day I'd first met her.

Monica stretched out her hand to accept Victoria's deal - a portion of her chocolate and a crepe the next time they went shopping on the Boardwalk together. "Well, I'm glad that's all settled."

Sayori plunged a spoonful of pudding into her mouth before murmuring, "I don't know why you bargained so hard with Monica anyways, Vicky."

"Cause it's embarrassing. And I know she'll go tell Amy exactly what I said if I didn't and then Amy would spend her time making grossed out faces at me all night."

"No, I mean, I was there too, y'know? And you haven't made any deal with me not to tell anyone."

I couldn't help but to let out a laugh at Victoria's sudden look of horror. It was… nice, I thought, to be able to sit here with other girls and listen to a bit of inane gossip that didn't really hurt anyone. It had been a long time since I'd been able to do anything like this.

It had been a long time since I'd had friends to do something like this with.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

Despite its status as a relatively upscale part of town, the Boardwalk was actually closer to Winslow than it was to Arcadia in terms of raw distance. As such, I wasn't surprised to see Emma already waiting for me at the cafe we'd chosen as our meeting spot, a cup of coffee in her hands.

I instinctively compared the two of us as I approached. Me, in my baggy hoodie, gangly and shapeless. Her, in a jacket and shirt that hugged her curves, along with a short skirt that showed off her legs despite the February cold. Even for this sort of casual outing, she'd dressed for appearance over practicality.

I ignored the pit that had formed in my stomach at the sight of her and instead sat down across from her. I didn't say anything, but she looked up and gave me a small smile.

"Hey there."

I stared silently at Emma for a long moment, waiting until her smile began to dim before giving a short, "Hi."

"Ah… How was Arcadia, Taylor?"

"Great. I spent lunch chatting with some friends from my club." It went unsaid that doing something like that would have been impossible for me at Winslow.

"I guess you'll want an early dinner then?"

"I still ate, Emma. It can wait. Are you ready to get going or did you still need to finish your coffee?"

Emma stared morosely at her coffee, which she probably hadn't finished yet, but didn't want to carry around from store to store either, before giving me a nod. "Alright. I figured we could focus on getting you a weapon first. You probably need a way to defend yourself with… how dangerous things are lately, and I can't really see you punching a mugger out."

We stood and walked out, Emma tossing her coffee in the trash as we went. "So did you have somewhere in mind? I can't imagine them selling that sort of thing at the local Walmart."

"You'd be surprised," she said dryly. I felt warmth against my palm, and forced myself not to jerk away as she threaded her fingers through mine, giving my hand a small squeeze. "But there's a hunting and sporting goods store just off the Boardwalk that I figured we could check out."

"Okay," I responded, before letting the two of us lapse back into uncomfortable silence.

As it turned out, Emma was right about Dick's Sporting Goods having a strangely large collection of weapons to buy. There were the sort that were more expected - bows, hunting rifles, that sort of thing - but there were also brass knuckles, tasers, and collapsible batons, which I wasn't quite sure applied to any sort of "sport." I guess being located in Brockton gave a lot of incentive to carry a larger selection.

I'd ended up picking up a collapsible baton for myself. Emma had suggested a taser, but I'd seen the rather high price tags attached to those, and I didn't feel comfortable letting her pay for it, even if she did offer. I did feel like the baton was rather lacking in reach, but it was easy to hide and would serve me well enough until I got a better handle on my abilities. I could always look into getting something longer - a sword or staff of some sort, maybe? - when I actually had some idea on how to use it.

After that, we'd simply wandered the Boardwalk together, randomly perusing stores. Through it all, Emma's hand kept finding mine, as though reassuring herself that I was still there and hadn't run away from her. As night fell, however, Emma kept shooting me small glances, trying to gauge my mood.

I ignored her. For awhile, at least. Until it got on my nerves enough that I finally turned to look at her and snapped, "What?"

"I…" She trailed off, opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it again with her thought unsaid. Shaking her head, she simply said, "No, it's nothing."

"Just say what you want to say, Emma."

She hesitated still, but finally asked, "I mentioned to my Mom that I might have a friend by for dinner. Do you think… you'd want to come over? I could give your Dad a call and let him know where you are."

A visceral part of me rebelled at the idea, a sudden panic at the thought of putting myself into a position where Emma had control. I cut that panic away, much as I had the awe that Victoria had forced on me earlier. It was irrational and I didn't need it. For all that Emma had been a massive bitch the last two years… I'd never had any problems with her family. If anything, she'd likely be on her best behavior around them. And…

Today had been uncomfortable, neither of us quite sure how to talk to one another. However, even if things weren't quite repaired between us, even if they never would be, I'd like to think that the Emma I spent time with today bore more resemblance to my once friend than the girl she'd been at Winslow.

I decided to extend a tiny bit more of my trust.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

Zoe Barnes was exactly as welcoming as I thought she'd be. Which is to say, she'd smothered me in a hug and remarked on how good it was to see me coming by again. I had the feeling that she didn't know why I'd stopped. Emma's sister, Anne, was apparently away at college - I hadn't even known that she'd decided to go out of state - and so I wouldn't be seeing her tonight. Alan, on the other hand, was simply running late with work.

In any case, Zoe had gone to start on dinner while the two of us tromped upstairs to Emma's room. I'd helped unpack some of Emma's clothes for her, but then she'd hit me with a surprise.

"Come on, Taylor, give me a spin."

I rolled my eyes, but complied, turning slowly for Emma's viewing pleasure. It turned out that some of the clothes that Emma had bought while we were shopping at the Boardwalk had been intended for me. Specifically, they were intended for my cape costume.

A pair of tights, one of those thin, breathable shirts that joggers liked to wear, a shawl to wrap around my head and cover my face, a half-skirt to provide a splash of color, and a few other things besides. She'd even picked out a set of calf-length boots for me to wear. I was honestly kind of astonished at how well she'd guessed my sizes.

The overall effect was… Well, I definitely still looked like I was wearing a homemade costume, rather than something professional, but it didn't look as bad as it would have if I'd been designing it myself, I was sure. It'd definitely work as a good base that I could eventually evolve into a better costume when I had more resources, while still remaining recognizable as the same cape.

"Well, how do I look?"

"Fabulous, darling," Emma drawled in a faux accent. "You're going to knock them off their feet."

I choked back a laugh before focusing on my power, devoting enough concentration to push at Emma, throwing her back onto the bed behind her. She landed with a startled yelp and I grinned at her as I said, "That _is _the idea."

Emma propped herself up onto her elbows and pretended to glare at me before breaking down into giggles. I smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Emma, turning my head so that she couldn't see when it inevitably faded. I hadn't been able to laugh with her since… Well, my first thought had been since two years ago, but the truth was that I hadn't since Mom had died. It was like I'd gone back in time - and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something terrible to happen to ruin it all.

No, I couldn't let myself focus on that. I took a deep breath and forced a smile back on my face. "I'll still need an actual mask. There's too much risk of something like this coming loose."

"Sure, we can pick something up later and spray paint it to match. This is just getting the rough idea of the costume, really."

I nodded slowly, but let my gaze wander around the room. Emma had discarded a lot of the pink that she'd favored when we were young, replacing it instead with shades of blue for the most part. I'd heard once that the color of a room would affect a person's mood - or perhaps their personality had to do with what color they chose for their room. I couldn't really remember the details, or what blue specifically would mean. It was probably a purely aesthetic choice for her anyways.

There were other changes too. The furniture had been updated. She had a new desk and a wider bed now. When we were young, she had liked to put art that I'd drawn for her up onto the walls. Now, those were gone, replaced with photos of her and her family. None of me, but I'd expected that. More interesting was that there weren't any that included Sophia or Madison either.

There was one anomaly. A drawing I'd made of Emma and Anne together for one of Emma's birthdays. Why had she kept that one out but gotten rid of the rest? It wasn't really anything special - I could pick out the roughness in the lines and the uneven shading, how the contours failed to quite capture what the two actually looked like. I'd been eleven at the time, and while I'd enjoyed drawing, I had still just been a kid playing at it in my free time.

I tilted my head, glancing at Emma out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at me, something pensive in her expression. I just couldn't figure her out. What was her game?

"My game?"

I blinked, not having realized I'd spoken out loud until Emma replied. Carefully, I said, "Yeah. Why all of this? Why now? You were happy enough with us not being friends for the last two years. So why? Because I'm a cape now?"

"No! Taylor, I just want to-" The doorbell rang downstairs, interrupting her thought. She bit down on her lip before continuing, "Mom can get the door. Listen, Taylor, I came to apologize to you before knowing anything about you having powers. Isn't that… isn't that proof that I wanted this?"

I stared at her eyes, searching for any sign of deceit I could find. Was that attempt at an apology after I got out of the hospital proof? Circumstantial evidence, maybe. Not enough to clear her of suspicion in my mind. But if she was being sincere, what else could she say, what else could she offer that I would accept?

Nothing. Or at least, nothing I could think of. If I wanted to try and repair things, then I could only… trust her for the time being. I took a deep breath. "Emma-"

"Emma!" Zoe's voice came from downstairs, overlapping with mine. "Your friend Sophia is here!"

Ice ran down my back. Was this it then? Was this the trap? No, Emma looked as surprised as me. "Shit." She swore and scrambled for the door, even as I moved to pull my shirt and hoodie on over my makeshift costume. No time to change out entirely, but I couldn't risk Sophia seeing me in it.

Emma slipped downstairs while I struggled with my clothes. I heard the murmur of voices coming from below, but they were too quiet to catch what they were saying. Yanking my pants up, I stepped out the door before I'd even finished buttoning, stopping on the stairs to listen.

"-Told you, I had plans tonight, Sophia."

"Yeah, yeah, so you found some boy to buy stuff for you. You're clearly home now, so whatever it was is over and we can hang out, right? I've got some news you'll want to hear."

"I'm sure whatever it is can wait, Sophia. I'm _busy_ tonight."

Sophia snorted and I leaned forward to watch her place her hands on her hips, leaning forward towards Emma as if to loom over the redhead. "Busy doing what, Ems? You always seem _busy_ lately."

"I've just got stuff going on, okay?"

"You've got stuff. Think you could give me the benefit of an actual excuse if you're going to bullshit me, Ems? Just tell me what's going on."

"I-"

Whatever excuse Emma was about to give was cut off as a stair creaked under my weight. Sophia's head snapped up to stare at me, her eyes going wide for a moment, before narrowing in sudden fury as she turned back to Emma. "What the fuck is she doing here?"

Emma stared wide-eyed between the two of us. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Sophia just took that as an excuse to keep going. "What the hell, Emma. You're ditching me to hang out with _Hebert_?"

"I'm not - I'm not _ditching_ you."

"Would it matter if she was?" I spoke up, staring coldly down at both of them. "It's not any of your business who Emma decides she wants to hang out with."

Sophia snarled as I flung her own words from two years ago back in her face. When Emma had first cut me off, I'd gone to Sophia, asked if she'd pushed Emma into doing it for some reason. It had been the only thing that made sense at the time: Emma had a new friend and she'd had a problem with me. Sophia had laughed, told me it wasn't my business, and then gave me a black eye for my trouble.

Being on the receiving end clearly irked her. I tensed and Emma shrunk back as Sophia clenched her fists and started up the stairs. It seemed she wanted to make it a repeat performance. Things didn't have to go her way though.

I licked at my suddenly dry lips as the realization came to me. It would be so easy. I could just wait until she got to the top of the stairs and then push her feet out from under her. A small nudge, and I could even make sure that she hit her head on the way down. I felt my gut tighten. In fear? In anticipation? Sophia was halfway to me and-

"Emma, honey? Is everything alright?" Zoe Barnes stepped out of the kitchen, having apparently heard the commotion. Her eyes passed over all three of us and lingered on Sophia.

"Yes, everything's fine, Mom." Emma smiled at Zoe, before shifting her attention over to the two of us on the stairs. "Sophia was just about to leave."

Sophia's lips thinned. "I am, huh?" She turned to look at Emma, before letting her gaze drift over to where Zoe was standing. "Fine. I have better things to be doing with my time anyways."

She walked to the door and turned, giving all of us one last look. "I'll be seeing you around, Hebert."

Yeah, I'm sure she would. I met her eyes unblinking until she finally turned away, shutting the door behind her. Emma's mom let out a tense breath in response and muttered quietly to herself. "Really, I don't know what Alan sees in her… Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes you two, okay?"

We nodded, but even after Zoe went back to the kitchen and the two of us returned to Emma's room, the atmosphere remained tense. Sophia had left her parting challenge and Emma knew as well as I did that she wouldn't back down.

"Taylor, about Sophia-"

"It's fine, Emma."

"No, you don't understand. She's dangerous."

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

Emma bit down on her lip but eventually nodded. Then her face was suddenly pressed up into my shoulder, her arms wrapping around me as she pulled me into a hug.

I wanted to pull away. I wanted to hold her tight. Instead, I wrapped my arms loosely around her until Zoe finally called us down again.

* * *

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**Topic: Cape Fight Watch: Thread the Fifty-Third**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay**

**Posted by: Combat Wombat**

Posted on August 17, 2010

**(Showing Page 354 of 357)**

**► Clockwork Ent**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

Saw something going down on Oak Hill. Looked like Stormtiger and someone new trashing some Merchant thugs. Big black robe with some red trimming.

**► Loud_Tigger**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

That'd be Rune. New Empire cape, telekinetic of some sort. They've been showing her off recently.

**► Red Like Roses**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

Great, more Nazis. Like we don't have enough of those in the Bay.

**► XxVoid_CowboyxX** (Temp-banned)

Replied on February 16, 2011:

She looks pretty short. And the couple of video clips we've gotten of her make her sound pretty young. I'm betting she's a teenager, Wards age at minimum.

► **Alathea** (Moderator)

Replied on February 16, 2011:

Please refrain from speculation on Cape Identities.

► **XxVoid_CowboyxX** (Temp-banned)

Replied on February 16, 2011:

Really? Age is speculation on Cape Identities? Next you're going to say that I shouldn't talk about how Vista goes to Arcadia even though everyone knows that all of the Wards go there.

► **Alathea** (Moderator)

Replied on February 16, 2011:

You were warned. Please enjoy your two day ban.

► **SpecificProtagonist**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

Wow, Void...

In other news, there was apparently a throw down of some sort over on Harrison. Looked like Armsmaster and Velocity were trying to chase down Squealer and Skidmark.

► **Leonardo**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

What happened? Was anyone hurt?

► **Jack of Grapes**

Replied on February 16, 2011:

They got away. The Protectorate was incompentent as usual, what else is new?

► **Shining Sparrow**

Replied on February 17, 2011:

Squealer and Skidmark are a hard combo to chase down when they're on the run. Let's try to get the Heroes a break on this one.

► **The_Bard**

Replied on February 17, 2011:

How many breaks are we supposed to be giving them, Agent? This sort of thing happens all the time. Hell, even the Heroes catch them, the Villains are out of prison within a week. It's a joke.

► **Final Paladin**

Replied on February 17, 2011:

Uber & Leet did some sort of Bioshock themed robbery over on 7th. Fought the Wards for a bit and carried off Vista before setting her down in front of a toy store a couple blocks away.

**End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357**

...

I frowned at the computer screen. I'd decided to swing by the local library to use their computers to browse PHO. I'd been hoping to find more information about any Capes that were operating in the Bay, and I'd gotten some information, but not as much as I'd hoped for.

Uber and Leet were relatively famous as Independent Villains went. They ran a web-show and themed a lot of their crimes around video games. A lot of people thought that they were relatively harmless. They were still villains however, and I didn't like that they apparently felt confident enough to duke it out with the local Wards and even kidnap Vista. At the very least, it did sound like she hadn't actually been hurt by the experience.

More concerning was the news of a new Empire cape. I knew about most of the big name capes in the area - it was hard not to be at least somewhat aware in a city as dangerous as Brockton Bay. I hadn't heard about Rune though, and from the sounds of things, she would have been an unpleasant surprise to run into.

Another telekinetic, only much stronger and with way more control than I had. It felt personally insulting, and that was before the whole Nazi thing was factored in.

Putting Rune aside, there were also a few groups to take notice of. There were a band of mercenaries led by someone named Faultline. They supposedly didn't take jobs inside the city, but there was no guarantee that something couldn't change that. Another group, called the Undersiders, were apparently operating as thieves. They had Grue, a darkness generator, and Hellhound, a Master who grew giant dogs, as well as two others. Unfortunately, the other two had nothing to their wiki profile besides a blurry picture and their names: Regent and Tattletale.

The weirdest one was that there was apparently a group of ex-military looking guys taking territory in the southern parts of the city, and no one knew if they even had cape support. That they'd lasted as long as they had with the Empire as a neighbor spoke to their effectiveness however. I guess when you've got a bunch of guys armed with laser guns, you didn't _need_ cape support.

I'd also taken notes on a couple of small-time Villains that I hadn't been aware of. Circus was apparently a thief with some sort of hammerspace and pyrokinesis. Trainwreck mostly kept to himself, but occasionally got into fights when other Capes or Merchants wandered into the Trainyard. There were supposedly a few others, but they tended not to last long in this city. Either they got absorbed by the gangs, moved elsewhere, or disappeared altogether.

It wasn't all that encouraging seeing how many Independents, both Hero and Villain alike, had been in the Bay over the course of the last two years that weren't around anymore.

I ran a hand through my hair and let out a yawn, glancing around the nearly empty library. I'd been here for a few hours at this point, and I could see the sunlight starting to dim through the windows. I should probably get going before too much longer.

Packing my things away, I flashed the librarian at the front desk a smile before stepping out into the chill evening air. The temperature had been dropping back down recently and there was supposedly going to be some snowfall this weekend. Tugging my jacket tighter, I turned for home.

It was nearly a block away that I first noticed the guy following me. He was a big guy, dark skin and wide shouldered. Young though, and he wasn't very good at shadowing someone. I came to a stop and he stopped some two hundred feet behind me looking uneasy, his gaze darting around the street.

I waited until he wasn't looking at me before making a sudden break for it. I'd been running lately and I had surprise and distance on my side. If I could outpace him for a bit, I could lose him in the city. I hit a corner and caught a glimpse of him sprinting after me before darting around. I darted for an alleyway, where I could disappear before he regained line of sight and-

-A fist slammed into my face and I went tumbling to the ground-

-A fist shot forward and I barely twisted, taking it across my jaw instead of my temple. It was followed by a knee to my gut however, and I found myself falling to the ground, the wind knocked out of me. I scrambled to try and get back to my feet only for a foot to drive itself into my ribs, sending me rolling into the alley wall.

"Stay down, Hebert. It's where losers like you belong."

A boot settled itself on my chest and I let out a groan. My glasses had been knocked free of my face, but I squinted and Sophia Hess's face slowly came into focus. The guy who had been following me jogged up to the alleyway a moment later, followed by a second guy who I hadn't noticed, and Sophia turned her head to glare at the two of them. "Did you two fuckups really almost manage to lose this fucking pushover?"

Tall and dark shrugged. "She bolted before we could grab her, Soph. We would have caught up."

Sophia snorted in response. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever, you brought the duct tape at least, right?"

Other guy, still tall but more lanky, just brown enough to be ethnic, speaks up. "Yeah, I've got it? You sure about this though? This ain't exactly a good neighborhood, and leaving someone tied up is…"

"Just fucking do it, you pussy. I might reconsider helping get those Empire bitches off of your girlfriends if you keep whining like this."

Lanky shifts uncomfortably, but sets a backpack down and reaches in to pull out a roll of duct tape. I watch him for a moment, noting the characteristic sound of tape being pulled free, before redirecting my attention to Sophia. They'd need to move me to tie me up properly, and that'd be my chance to escape. I just had to be patient.

It was, admittedly, somewhat difficult not to rage and lash out when staring up at Sophia's smug face. I could always beat her using my powers… but that would just expose me as a Cape. I wouldn't make the same mistake that I had with Emma a month ago. I wouldn't let my anger control me. I took a deep breath and…

… Cut away my fear and my rage, allowing myself to look at Sophia with naught but serenity and barely concealed contempt.

Sophia apparently noticed the change and a full handed smack hit my face. I taste blood on my lip, but I don't let my pain show. I wouldn't give her that satisfaction. She scowls and leans in, a hand closing around my throat. "You're a loser, Hebert. A nobody. Emma might be stupid enough to be feeling guilty for you right now, but she'll wise up once she realizes just how weak you are."

_Weak… So this girl values strength._

I wasn't sure where the thought came from. Of course she valued strength, Sophia was a two-bit thug at heart. But with it came a plan, the sort of thing I wouldn't have thought of before. My lips curved up into a smirk - it felt wrong, like it was meant for someone else's mouth, but it was enough to get Sophia snarling again.

"If I'm so weak, Sophia, why do you only ever come at me when you have at least two people to act as back up?"

"I don't _need_ anyone to deal with you, Hebert."

"Sure, sure. That's why you're always hiding behind Blackwell at school. Face it, Sophia. You aren't a predator." Predator? Where had that come from? "You're a coward; a scavenger looking for easy meals and running away whenever something actually strong comes along."

Her teeth bared like an animal's as her fingers tightened down on my neck, cutting off my air. I didn't look away. I stared her in the eye even as my vision started to swim. She was saying something, but I couldn't understand what. One of the boys shouted, pulling her back, and suddenly I was gasping for sweet air again.

"-Trying to kill her, Sophia? I ain't going to jail because of you."

"Fuck off, Paul. She's still alive isn't she?"

My wheezing laugh cut into their argument. I wasn't sure why I was laughing. I was so lightheaded I could hardly seem to think. It didn't seem to stop me from talking though, my mouth moving as though my brain's input was no longer required. "It wouldn't be the first time, would it? It's probably why she even bothered to bring you, Paul. So she'd have a fall guy if she 'accidentally' dropped someone off a roof."

"What?" Sophia's eyes widened in panic before narrowing again in rage. "What did Emma fucking tell you?"

And there it was. Mistake. The two guys, who had already been uncomfortable, suddenly looked like they would rather be anywhere but here. Sophia took a step forward and Lanky glanced at me before interposing himself between her and me. "Hey, Soph, calm down, alright? She's just mouthing off. Let's just tie her to the post like we planned to and get out of here, alright?"

Sophia's fists clenched, but her gaze darted between the two men. No, not men. Boys. They were scared and nervous and didn't want to become murderers for Sophia's sake. She wouldn't find any support there. Finally, she turned away in a huff. "Fine. Get her tied up then. I'm already tired of seeing her face."

Lanky stared at her for a moment longer before finally kneeling down to help me to my feet. "Sorry about this." He murmured quietly, darting glances at Sophia to make sure she didn't hear.

"It's fine. It's not your fault. I'm sure she had some sort of dirt on you." It was still hard to talk, still hard to think, but I managed to sit back up. The boy half carried, half escorted me out of the alley onto the empty street. I bumped against him as we walked, stumbling before he sat me down next to the lamppost. Once there, he began wrapping tape around the rest of my body.

The tall guy, Paul, spoke up once Lanky was done. "Alright, we're finished here. Come on, Sophia, let's get going."

"Just a sec, I've got one last thing to tell her."

"Seriously Sophia? Let's just get out of here."

"Go ahead and get going, I'll catch up." Sophia showed her teeth, but I don't think any of us mistook it for a smile. The two guys looked at each other, but hung around, apparently not trusting her to not do something crazy if they left. Sophia scowled at the lack of response before kneeling down next to me. She leaned in to whisper quietly enough that they wouldn't hear.

"Y'know, Hebert, this is pretty close to ABB territory. Wonder what they'll do when they find a white girl all nice and strung up for them? I hear they like to kidnap girls, put them in brothels for all their thugs to use. Course, no one would actually _want_ to have sex with you, so maybe they'll just stick you and be done instead?" I shied back, putting on the small display of fear that Sophia was looking for, careful to keep the phone - which I'd taken the chance to telekinetically pickpocket off of Lanky when I'd bumped into him - behind me and out of sight. "I won't tell them. This time. But this is your only warning, Hebert. Next time, I'll leave you trussed up on their doorstep. And if I hear a word of this getting to the police? It'll be your corpse they find instead. Got it?"

"Got it." I forced a tremor into my voice, letting it come out as a squeak. When had I gotten this good at acting? For all that Sophia could kill me right now, I felt nothing but contempt for the girl in front of me. Sophia seemed satisfied though, her lips curving up into a smirk as she pulled away.

"Glad we could understand each other, Hebert."

She walked away and the two guys followed, exchanging glances. I waited until they were out of sight to float the stolen phone onto my lap. Unfortunately, that's when I found out that my telekinesis apparently wasn't capable of affecting touch screens. I flowered at the phone for a moment before levitating it up to my face and using my nose to punch in 9-1-1.

Maybe Sophia's threats would have been enough to keep me from calling the cops on her a few months ago. Now though… now they seemed so inconsequential. She'd gone over the line this time and she knew it. And if she tried to carry through on her threat?

Well, she wasn't the only dangerous one anymore.

* * *

Author's note:

Apologies for the long delay between chapters. It's been up for awhile on the Quest sites, but honestly, this site plays hell with my formatting and it's a real demotivator for getting stuff cross-posted. Here it is now though. I've also decided to stop cross-posting the decisions made, mostly for again, being at a loss for formatting them.


	5. Slave 1-4

"...And then she said that she'd kill me if I said anything to the police."

The officer across from me felt… alarmed? at that. It was something I'd noticed in the aftermath of Sophia's attack - if I focused on the people around me, felt at them with my power, I could get a vague sense of what they were feeling. It wasn't easy. Not only was it vague, but I felt like I was constantly having to interpret things, like I was reading a foreign language and adjusting it to fit my perceptions.

"It was brave of you to call the police despite Miss Hess' threats, Miss Hebert."

I pull my head up from my knees to look at the uniformed woman. After whatever adrenaline I'd had from the fight had died down, I'd wondered what the hell I'd been thinking to taunt Sophia like that. Once the police had arrived and cut me free, the fear had finally set in and I was left clutching my knees to my chest, my body shivering uncontrollably.

"It wasn't brave or anything. I just… I'm just tired of being a victim. She's already almost killed me once. I don't want to give her another chance."

"She's tried to kill you before?"

"Not on purpose I think. Back at the start of January, she filled my locker with - with all sorts of crap and shoved me inside. I wound up in the hospital. The doctors said something about toxic shock."

The officer frowned and wrote something down in her notepad. "Did you bring this to the attention of the police at the time?"

"Yeah, we made a report. I didn't actually see her push me in, so even though I heard her voice, the cops said that there wasn't enough evidence to actually do anything."

There was a spike of concern in the officer, but whatever the reason had been, she didn't indicate it. "Did you recognize the two boys who were with her?"

"No. She called one of them Paul though, and some of their conversation made it sound like they attended Winslow. Oh, and the phone I called you guys on I sort of took off the other guy when he was moving me to tie me up. So maybe you can get something off of that?"

"Alright, we'll be sure to take a look at that. Before I leave, I did want to ask if you had any thoughts as to why she might have assaulted you like this? Any insights on her motives?"

"I… I don't really know. She's spent the last two years of my life doing her best to make me miserable. I'd thought she'd leave me alone once I got out of Winslow, but after the thing at Emma's house-"

"Emma?"

"Oh, uh. Emma Barnes. She's a…" Friend? Tormenter? "Someone I used to know. She and I used to be friends but drifted apart after she started hanging out with Sophia. She's been trying to reconnect since the whole… locker thing."

"And what happened at her house?"

"I was at Emma's house and Sophia showed up. She wanted to talk to Emma, didn't seem to want to take no for an answer when Emma said she was busy with something. Then Sophia saw me and got pissed, accused Emma of ditching her to hang out with me."

"When was this?"

"Monday evening."

"Was there anyone else there besides the three of you?"

"Sure, Emma's Mom was there. I think Sophia probably would have geared up to attack me then if she hadn't been there."

"Okay, we'll be sure to speak to them as well. Now, we've already contacted your Father, so he'll probably be here soon if you're okay waiting?."

I nodded and the officer gave me a small smile before standing up to leave. True to her words, Dad rushed into the room within minutes, immediately sweeping me into his arms. For a brief moment, I felt like everything would be okay. Then I looked up at his face and saw just how _tired_ he looked. Bags hung heavy under his eyes and small wrinkles had formed where there hadn't been any a month ago. Between preparing for the upcoming trial and working overtime to help pay off my medical bills, Dad had been spreading himself thin.

And I'd added to that stress. I'd stupidly let myself get ambushed by Sophia and added to his burden. Worse, I knew that I was going to twist that and use it to my benefit.

I took a deep breath and mumbled into his shoulder. "Hey Dad."

"Hey Taylor." His voice was cracked, strained by everything that was going on. "How are you?"

"Fine. It's just bruises. Nothing that won't heal. Just…" I bit down on my lip. "I thought I was finally free. That I'd left them behind at Winslow. That I'd escaped."

I felt his fingers comb through my hair, a soothing motion in place of words that had failed him. "It'll be okay, Taylor. The police will get whoever did this."

"Just like how everything was going to be okay after I left Winslow behind, right?" I felt my Dad wince and pulled away from him. "Sorry. That… Wasn't really fair of me."

"No, you're right. I just don't know what to do anymore. How do I protect you when you can be attacked just walking home from the library?"

I hunched my shoulders, made myself look smaller. Weaker. "Maybe you can't, Dad." I paused, deliberately allowing the idea to hang there before adding my suggestion. "Do you think any of the Dockworkers could teach me to throw a punch? Or know martial arts or something? Maybe it's time I learned to protect myself instead."

"I… Yeah, I could talk to Kurt and maybe ask around a bit. I'll pick up some pepper spray for you too. I want you to be safe, Taylor."

I nodded miserably. It had been a completely reasonable request. One that made sense given the circumstances. I still felt like shit. I'd purposely done my best to manipulate my Dad into getting me training that would help with my Cape activities. He almost certainly wouldn't be happy knowing what use I'd put the knowledge towards.

In the end though, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and I needed to be better. I wouldn't let myself get beaten down by bullies and thugs like Sophia ever again.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"Oh God, Taylor, what happened?"

I winced as Victoria ambushed me on my way to the bus. I'd worn a scarf to hide the bruising around my neck, but there wasn't much I could do about my split lip or the swelling in my jaw. I'd been drawing looks all day, but I'd hoped to skip the Lit Club and avoid having to give any actual explanations.

"Um. Nothing really. I just had a bit of an accident over the weekend."

"An accident," she replied flatly. She frowned, her eyes lingering on my scarf, and _ConcernWorry_ then her arm was hooked through mine. "C'mon, I'm taking you to see my sister."

"What? No, it's just bruises, I don't need healing or anything."

"What, do you like being injured?"

"No, it's just…" I brushed a hand through my hair, trying to sort my thoughts out. "I haven't really met your sister yet, and I don't really want it to be because I need healing, you know? I don't want it to seem like I'm only interested in meeting her because of her power or something like that."

"You tend to overthink things, don't you?"

"What?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it, I guess. Fine, if you're not going to let my sister heal you, then at the very least, you're going to tell me how you actually got those bruises."

"I told you, it was an accident-"

"Taylor, I punch people enough to know what it looks like. Now come on, you can trust me. Let me help."

I hesitated. I wanted to trust her. I wanted to believe that she was a genuinely good person. She'd been nothing but kind to me so far. But so had Emma, once upon a time, and I'd only known Victoria for a few weeks now, only occasionally seeing her in the Lit Club. I wanted to trust her however.

I examined my feelings.

Yes, her aura was there, encouraging me to like her, to believe in her, but even as I built a wall between it and myself, I still found myself wanting to trust her. I still found myself wanting to believe that a Hero would be better than deliberately obtuse teachers and ineffectual cops.

I took a deep breath. "I.. Um, I was sort of bullied really badly back when I was at Winslow. I finally got a transfer out, but I sort of ran into one of the girls over the weekend, and I guess not being able to push me around every day just means that they're willing to go a lot further when they do get the chance."

"That's screwed up." Victoria paused for a beat before grinning evilly. "Got any names you want me to go after?"

"I didn't become friends with you to take advantage of your powers either, Vicky."

"Sure, sure, but I'm a hero, Taylor. This is something I'd want to do even if I didn't know you. So give me the deets and let me put the fear of Glory Girl into these girls for you."

"Isn't it supposed to be God?"

"God wishes he looked as good as I do."

"Humble too, I see."

"Yep, I'm the best at humility, ask anyone."

Victoria winked and a snort of laughter escaped me. "Fine, but just the one. Otherwise, you'd need to track down half of Winslow."

"I mean, I could, if you'd like…"

"No, as long as they leave me alone, I'm happy to just move on."

"Alright, but I'm at least going to give whatever girl did this to you a hard time. So, name?"

"Sophia Hess. She's the school's star track runner - never got into trouble with the teachers no matter what she did."

"Got it. Glory Girl is on the case." Victoria winked and a flush of pleasure went through me, which I quickly fought back, as her aura strengthened for a brief second. "In the meantime, I've decided that you, me, and Amy are all going to hang out this weekend."

I blinked. "What."

"We are having girl time."

"No, no, I mean how did that follow from what we were talking about?"

"Well, you said you felt awkward asking for favors from Amy, since you hadn't met her yet. So now I'm removing that excuse for you. Also, maybe we can find you something other than a hoodie to wear all the time."

I shrank back. "There's nothing wrong with hoodies."

"Didn't say there was, but variety is of the spice of life and all that. So. Saturday?"

"I don't get a choice in this, do I?"

"Nope."

"Fine." I did my best to sound put out, but I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. Was this what it was like having actual friends? Having something to look forward to, with none of the twisting feeling in my gut that came from being around Emma.

No, that wasn't true. There was still a part of me that expected this to be some sort of pity project on Victoria's part, that she'd get tired of me in a few weeks. But it was a small thing, a vague premonition rather than the ironclad wariness that Emma inspired. I could handle that. I could take this risk.

"Saturday then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get going if I'm going to catch the bus."

"Uh."

"What?"

Victoria fidgeted and looked away. "The bus sort of… already left, Taylor."

I turned around and stared at the empty bus stop. Oh. So it had. I slowly took off my glasses and raised my palm to press over my eyes.

"So…" I turn back at the sound of Victoria's voice, taking in her sheepish smile. "How about the Glory Girl Express instead?"

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

Being carried by Victoria as she flew over the city had been a strange experience, equal parts exhilarating and embarrassing.

I'd looked up to Alexandria as a kid. Being able to fly like this, to survey the city and feel the wind in my hair, it was like that fantasy had come to life. On the other hand, I wasn't exactly flying under my own power, and being cradled in Victoria's arms felt weirdly intimate.

It wasn't really an experience that I was keen to repeat anytime soon.

The rest of the week passed fairly normal. One of Dad's friends from work, Kurt, volunteered to help show me how to throw a punch. It wasn't anything fancy, mostly just teaching me how to put my body behind the blow to lend it more momentum than just my arm strength could provide. Well, that and the very clear instructions to never punch someone in the mouth, because that's apparently a good way to get some awful infections.

It was decent enough advice for just protecting myself, but I'd probably need to find something more in-depth if I wanted to be effective in taking down actual criminals. Judo, maybe. That was supposed to be all about using leverage and getting people into submission without hurting them too bad, right? Eh, I'd take a look online later.

For now, I was pulling my costume on. It was mostly regular-ish clothes, so it didn't feel too weird, but I definitely wasn't used to the boots or the gloves. Well, that's what tonight was for. I wasn't going to patrol, exactly, but I wanted to get used to moving around in costume.

I slipped the domino mask on before pulling the hood up to hide my hair and glanced in the mirror. I… looked like a cape. An actual hero. A small smile crossed my lips.

Then, I was out the window, climbing my way onto the roof.

It was harder than I'd like to admit. There weren't a whole lot of handholds, and for all that I'd been working out, it'd mostly been my lower body that had been benefiting. Fortunately, things were easier once I was up there.

Brockton Bay was surprisingly friendly to the roof-hopping crowd. Most buildings were either one or two stories at max unless you got Downtown, and they were pretty tightly packed together. Things might be different out in the suburbs, but here at least, the main thing I'd have to worry about is the occasional alleyway running between buildings, or a street dividing my route.

Speaking of which, I was coming up to an alley now. I licked my lips before taking a running jump. I landed on the opposite roof with a victorious grin - and then stumbled as my balance went awry. Between being unused to the boots and landing on a sloped roof, I went sliding down, just barely catching myself before I fell off.

Well, that definitely could have gone better.

Still, I was getting the hang of things. A few more jumps and then I hopped to a light post to slide down to street level. I wish my powers had come with some sort of Mover ability, but… Work with what you've got, I guess. Not that I had very much. I'd slowly been improving, but my powerset was definitely on the weaker end of the spectrum.

Still… Work with what I've got. Even if my ability wasn't much, it was still something. It's fine if I wasn't strong, it just meant I had to be clever instead. And I was getting restless, tired of sitting around. The gangs were filled with thugs like Sophia, people who preyed on the weak and helpless. I wanted to put a stop to that.

I needed to put a stop to that.

This weekend, I decided. I'd go out on my first patrol this weekend.

* * *

I shuffled my feet, trying to ward off the lingering cold and ignore the impending sense of doom that had been hovering over me since I'd woken up this morning.

I could do this. It was just shopping with a friend. An actual friend, not… whatever weirdness was going on with Emma. I could do this.

...On the other hand, I hadn't seen Victoria yet. I could go home and call her, give her some sort of plausible sounding excuse and escape all of this. I'm sure I could come up with something, like, maybe I was sick. Or my cat died. What cat, you ask? I meant the neighbor's cat. Obviously.

Yeah, that could work. Sorry, I couldn't meet up, I accidentally killed my neighbor's cat. Wait. Fuck. I groaned and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. Yeah, if I was already babbling like this in my own head, then it was probably better to just abort this whole thing. I turned away to walk home and -

"Hey, there she is!"

I heard Victoria's voice over the crowd, cutting off my line of retreat. I sighed and forced a smile onto my face, trapped into the possibility of having fun socializing. Victoria was making her way towards me, pulling another girl behind her. I hesitantly raised a hand to wave at her and she beamed in response.

Not that I didn't already, but now I really felt like shit for trying to escape.

"Hey Taylor! Sorry it took me so long to find you, the Boardwalk's busy today, huh? Oh, this is Amy, by the way."

I let the words wash over me, taking a moment to compare the two sisters. If I was being honest, I wouldn't have guessed that they were sisters if Victoria hadn't told me. Where Victoria was… not bubbly, exactly, but cheerful and bright, blonde and full-figured - the stereotypical cheerleader - Amy was her opposite; small and mousy, dark brown hair and a sour expression that said she didn't want to be here.

"Um. Hi." Wow, I sounded stupid. Say something else. "It's good to finally meet you, Amy. Vicky's said a lot about you."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure she has. Can we go ahead and get started? I've still got some errands to run before my shift at the hospital tonight."

"Oh." That was… abrupt. "Sure, that's fine."

Victoria glanced at Amy and frowned slightly, but brightened up immediately after. "Right, so I was thinking, maybe some clothes shopping first? We could get Taylor here to try on a few outfits."

I felt a flash of something from Amy, a twisted knot of emotions that I had trouble parsing before it vanished. Whatever it was, she didn't give any outward sign of it, simply shrugging and glancing away. "Sounds good, I guess."

"Great, I know just the place." Victoria grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me along in her wake the same way that she'd been pulling Amy.

"Wait, I don't get a say in this?"

"Nope, you're my dress-up doll for the day, Taylor. You'll just have to resign yourself to your fate."

"I make a pretty poor doll, all things considered."

"Eh, you'll do just fine." Victoria flashed a smile my way and ushered us into her store of choice. "Okay, the two of you go wait by the changing rooms and I'm going to pick out some stuff."

And so Amy and I were left standing there in awkward silence as Hurricane Victoria swept off to its next destination.

"So…" I glanced over at Amy. "Is she always this… enthusiastic?"

"Nope." Amy pulled out her phone and started flipping through some webpage, apparently doing her best to avoid interacting with me. "I mean, she's always pretty forceful, but she seems to be putting extra effort into whatever this is."

The question of 'Why' came to my tongue, but didn't pass my lips. I knew why. It was because she'd seen some poor girl who'd transferred in, had some sort of freak out, and then showed up a few weeks later covered in bruises.

I took a deep breath. I… should I feel grateful to be someone's pity project? It was more attention than the teachers or students at Winslow had ever given. All the time I was there, I'd wished for someone to help me, and now that I'd escaped, here was Victoria, a _hero_, finally riding in to protect me.

But I didn't want to be protected. I didn't want to be pitied. Not any more. I wanted to stand on my own feet. To stand as an equal rather than someone to look down on.

I bit down on my lip. It wouldn't help to dwell on it. If I wanted to move past my old weakness, then I had to live it. Tonight would be my first patrol as a Hero. It'd be a start in that direction.

Victoria came back, carrying a pile of clothes in her arms. She wasn't walking, I noticed, her toes trailing just above the ground as she floated her way towards us.

"Alright," she started, setting the pile onto a chair. "Taylor, you start with this, this, and this-" I blinked as a pile of clothes was shoved into my arms. "And Amy, you'll be changing into this."

Amy looked up from the dress that had been shoved at her. "I thought we were just dressing up Taylor."

"Well, that _was_ the plan, but why stop there when I've got you here at my mercy, Ames?"

Amy flushed red and then pushed the dress back towards Victoria. "No. No, no, no. You're not pulling me into this Vicky-" She faltered as Vicky stepped in closer. "I mean, we do this sort of thing all the time, you should focus on Taylor."

"No, we don't. You've been staying holed up either at the hospital or in your room for awhile now. So you're included in today's plans, Ames." Victoria placed her hands on Amy's shoulders, turned her about, and began frog-marching her towards a dressing room. Halfway there, she tilted her head back to look at me. "See you in a few minutes, Taytay, I'm looking forward to how that'll look on you."

I stayed silent for a long moment after the door closed behind the two of them.

"...Taytay?"

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

Victoria's unfortunate penchant towards bad nicknames aside, I actually found myself enjoying the afternoon.

I'd thankfully managed to stick mostly to outfits that included pants, even if most of Victoria's selection tended to be a lot tighter on me than I'd prefer. I didn't really have the figure to pull them off, so my legs largely wound up looking like long sticks. It was still better than the one time she tried to sneak a mini-skirt into my pile. I'd refused to cooperate with that particular suggestion and Victoria had stayed away from pushing me towards skirts after that.

Amy and Victoria herself put on much better showings. Victoria obviously had the figure to back up whatever she chose to wear, but even Amy looked a lot better than I expected once Victoria had forced her into some brighter colors. Something about making her less gloomy, I guess.

We hadn't actually ended up purchasing anything. Victoria was in this whole thing for fun, Amy seemed pretty uninterested, and I… Well, I didn't really have much in the way of money left. I had an allowance, but it wasn't much, and my savings were pretty thin at the best of times. With all the hospital and trial stuff going on, and my having just spent most of my savings shopping with Emma, I wasn't going to be buying much of anything anytime soon.

After that, we'd meandered over to a cafe. The same one I'd met Emma at last week, ironically enough. I tried not to think about the parallels.

"So," Victoria led in before sipping at the smoothie she'd ordered. "About the Sophia thing."

I glanced over at Amy, who looked completely unconcerned with the topic. "You told Amy?"

"Only the basics, so she'd know where I was going and stuff. But I haven't been able to find her."

"Uh. I wouldn't think it'd be that hard?"

Victoria shrugged. "You'd think. I tried looking up Hess's in the phone book, but the one family I found was pretty uh… combative when I knocked on the door. And just asking every black girl I see at Winslow if her name is Sophia didn't seem like a smart thing. So uh. I was wondering if you had a photo maybe. Or I could try asking Dean if he has any ideas, if that's okay with you? I mean, it'd mean telling him about all this, but he's usually pretty smart."

Amy let out a snort at Victoria's final comment and I could practically taste the derision coming off of her. Okay, wasn't going to get into that can of worms. "Don't think I have a photo or anything. And…" Was I comfortable with someone else knowing about what I was going through? I wasn't really. I was tired of being a victim, of everyone seeing me as a victim. And how much could Dean really do anyway? "Let me think about it, okay Vicky?"

"Sure, and I'll keep an eye out either way, just let me know what you decide on."

I nodded and we fell into a silence, broken only by the slurping sound of Amy's straw as she drained the last of her drink. I glanced over at her and hesitated a brief second before speaking up. "Thanks for coming today, Amy. I know you didn't really have to, and uh…"

"It's fine. I mean, Vicky kind of wouldn't take no for an answer, but you were more tolerable than most of her fans."

"Amy!"

Amy rolled her eyes at Victoria's scandalized voice. "You can't tell me that half your 'friends' don't qualify, Vicky. You've got a literal Glory Girl fanclub at school."

"Er… That sounds like it would be awkward?"

"You have no idea," Amy said, ignoring how her sister's face was doing an impression of a tomato. "Usually they spend their time ignoring me to fawn over Vicky, which is fine, I guess. The really annoying ones are the ones who think they can score points with Vicky by being nice to her sister."

"I told you it wasn't like that, Amy. Jess was just trying to be friendly-"

"No, she was being _patronizing_. There's a difference."

"Not to interrupt," I said, interrupting the two of them, "But shouldn't you have your own fanclub, Amy? I mean, you are Panacea."

Victoria let out a laugh and I was rewarded for my question by getting to see Amy blush. I had to admit, after how moody she'd been all morning, the contrast was kind of cute to see.

Her previous sour expression quickly reasserted itself however, as Victoria elbowed her and said, "She totally does, she just refuses to grace them with her presence."

"They're just a bunch of sycophants," Amy mumbled. " I don't want to hang out with someone just because they think I'll heal their family if someone gets sick."

Victoria's grin widened and she slung an arm around Amy's shoulders, hugging the girl into her side as she sing-songed, "Well you're in luck, Amy~"

Why would Victoria be… No, she wouldn't...

"You see, Taytay here-"

"No, don't you dare, Vicky!"

"Taytay here-"

"Shush!"

Victoria broke down cackling and Amy was left shooting bemused glances between the two of us. "I think that might be the first time I've heard you speak above a mumble all morning."

The words weren't hurtful, but they still managed to throw cold water onto the moment, and I found myself shrinking into my hoodie. I forced myself to stop, to put a smile back onto my face. I wouldn't fall back to old habits from Winslow. "Yeah… I guess it's been awhile since I've done anything like this."

"We'll just have to do it again then," Vicky said. "I'll send you a text next time we plan something. Speaking of which, I still haven't gotten your number, Taylor."

Victoria's aura flared - something she had a tendency to do when she was asking for something, I'd noticed. She probably wasn't even aware she was doing it. Still, I instinctively pushed it back. Not just from myself, but containing it around her. It's something I was slowly getting better at doing the more time I spent around Victoria.

I saw Amy look confused for a brief second as the aura started to hit her and then was pushed away. Huh, I guess not even her sister was completely immune. I should probably answer her question though before I get distracted with that bit of info.

"I uh, don't actually have a cell phone."

"Seriously? I thought everyone had one these days."

I shrugged uncomfortably. "My Dad doesn't really like them." Besides, even if I did have one, the Trio would have undoubtedly broken it at some point.

"Huh." Victoria paused before grinning evilly. "Well, I guess that just means you'll have to hang with us at school more often then. That, or I'll have to hunt you down to give you news, but I'll find some way to embarrass you if you make me go through that sort of trouble."

A shiver went down my spine. Yeah, let's avoid that particular scenario. I fervently nodded my agreement.

"Great, glad that's settled. I need to get Amy here to the hospital, so I'll see you Monday, alright?"

I made an agreeing sound and Amy gave a murmured, "See you later," as Victoria pulled her sister into her arms, holding Amy up much as she had me when she'd flown me home the other day.

Then, Victoria was in the air. She turned and waved at me, giving a final, "Until next time, Taytay!" before flying off.

...Seriously, why Taytay?

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I loped along rooftops, looking out over the dark city. I was still getting used to my costume, but this whole thing felt better than I expected it would. I'd never been especially into physical activity, but it still somehow felt like I was made for the cape life.

At least, it felt that way right up until I came to a roof that was higher than the one I was currently on. I took a running jump, desperately grabbing whatever handholds I could manage and hauling myself up to the next platform, grumbling out a series of curses as I did. Honestly, why couldn't city planners be kind enough to make everything nice and flat for heroes to use?

I rolled over onto my back once I got to the top and groaned softly. I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle. My tricep? I frowned, idly trying to recall the biology homework that I'd spent the afternoon working on, even as I rubbed at my arm. It'd probably be worth going over it again later.

For now however, I pushed myself back to my feet and continued on my way. Tonight was my first patrol. I couldn't just lie around.

Unfortunately, the criminals of the city apparently didn't agree with me. I'd seen a couple of guys wearing gang colors, but they'd just been hanging around and didn't look like they were actually _doing_ anything. I hadn't seen anything that looked like a crime in progress. No robberies, muggings, or even gang shootouts.

I sighed as I came to an intersection and settled on the edge of a roof. With how violent Brockton was, I'd kind of expected to be stopping something more or less every night I went out, but I guess even criminals liked to enjoy their Saturdays.

I idly watched the cars go by, at least until I heard a thumping coming from down the road. I turned my head to spot the source, as it slowly resolved into a convertible with its hood down, music blaring loudly enough to shake the surroundings. Did that count as a crime? The quality of the music and the colorful language it included should probably count as a public disturbance at least, right?

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that's me. The hero who goes around stopping people who play their music too loud. I turned my attention back to the intersection.

The light turned yellow.

I suddenly had a bad feeling, a sinking pit in my stomach.

I looked back at the convertible. It wasn't slowing down.

The light turned red.

A car began to pull into the intersection. The convertible didn't stop.

I jumped. I grabbed a light post and slid down. The scream of tearing steel and shattered glass hit me before I touched the ground. I couldn't look. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't face this. Taylor Hebert couldn't face this.

I couldn't let myself be Taylor Hebert.

Seeker forced herself forward. The convertible was still in the middle of the intersection, it's front caved in, but the car had spun around and hit a nearby building. My eyes still burned, I still couldn't breathe, but I forced myself to move forward to check on the passenger of the car.

Inside was a woman, her face a bloody mask. The door had broken, something sharp running into her side. For a moment, I saw dark hair and glasses and then I blinked the tears away. She had brown hair and no glasses. There was a carseat in the back, thankfully empty.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. I could do this.

I circled to the passenger side door and pulled it open. The woman's cell phone had fallen under the seat, and I quickly fished it out and dialed emergency services, ignoring the trembling in my hands.

_"Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency?"_

I froze, struggled to get the words out. No, I could do this. Focus. "There was a car accident at the corner of Brighton and Edgeworth. The victims look pretty bad off and will need an ambulance."

"_Alright, ma'am, help is on the way. Please stay on the line until it arrives."_

I licked at my lips and nodded - Stupid. She can't see me. "Yeah, okay. I can do that."

"_Could you answer some questions for me while you wait?"_

I reached and took the woman's hand in mine. It felt like holding ice. Fuck, I finally had power and it still didn't matter. I couldn't save someone who was hurt right in front of me. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Sure."

"_What's your name, ma'am?"_

"T-Seeker. It's Seeker."

There was a pause before the operator spoke again. "_Are you a parahuman, Seeker?"_

"Yes."

"_Okay, Seeker. Please do not attempt to move the victims, as it may exacerbate their injuries."_

Yeah, that seemed pretty obvious looking at the state she was in. But there had to be something I could do. I couldn't just let her die, not when I was right here next to her.

"_-understand, Seeker?"_

"Sorry," I muttered. "I'll keep the line open, but I need to set the phone down." I ignored the operator's protest and closed my eyes. There had to be something I could do. I opened myself up. I listened to the universe sing, an orchestra played across uncountable strings. I listened until I found a single string, faintly trembling, until I found a weak heartbeat counting a time against creation.

A thought came to mind. _Energy was Energy_. If I could affect Kinetic energy, then I could affect other types of energy as well. Even that of a person's life. I could redirect the energy around me into healing this woman.

No, that wouldn't work. Not because it was impossible, but because I didn't have the understanding to make it safe. I didn't know how to change the energy. I didn't know how to make it flow through a person's body. I didn't know how to keep it from exceeding her capacity. Too much was as sure to be deadly as too little.

But I had a safer source to draw on. I could share my own life with the woman. I wouldn't need to worry about making it safe for her that way. My own life force was so insignificant against the limitless ocean around me.

I pulled a thread from myself and connected it to her.

…

…

…

A hand gently shook my shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

I blinked, staring up at a blurry face above me. I blinked again and the world slowly came into focus. He was dressed in a paramedic uniform. "Yeah, I'm fine. I made the call in, I was just trying to keep the victim stable."

"Alright, well, we'll need you to move so that we can get to the driver."

I nodded and wobbled my way out of the car, the world spinning around me with every step. I found a lamp post to lean against and watched as the paramedics worked to get the woman free from the car, and-

…

The woman was on a gurney being loaded into the ambulance. A paramedic stopped in front of me. The one from earlier? "Hey, you should come with us and get checked out, you really don't look too good."

I shook my head. This would pass, I just needed to rest for a bit. My eyes shut.

…

…

…

I was in my room. When had I gotten here? I closed the open window behind me and stumbled towards my closet. I yanked at my costume, pulling off piece after piece and just leaving it in a pile before collapsing in my bed.

I slept like the dead.


	6. Slave 1-5

I woke to a pounding headache.

I stared up at the ceiling for a long moment before stumbling out of bed. Dreams of a desert swirled through my head. Not the vast dunes of sand that I'd instinctively associate with the word, but instead the brown dust of a land that had withered simply for lack of water. I managed to get to the bathroom and held onto the sink, forcing back the urge to vomit.

Something was wrong.

I'd been sick too often lately. Ever since the locker. I frowned. Should I go back to the hospital? We were already swamped in bills from my last visit. And there was no guarantee that it was even something physical. What if it was my powers? Some sort of backlash from using them too hard?

No, something felt off about that. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. I was pale and drawn, dark circles under my eyes. I looked like I hadn't slept in a week. There was something different about this. I'd done… something specific last night to leave me in this state. What had I been doing?

I took a deep breath and - _The scream of tearing metal, the car crushed against a building, blood bright and vivid on my hands - _barely lurching to the side to let my bile fill the toilet.

Fuck.

Damn it.

I scrubbed the tears from my eyes and banished the memory before letting myself lean back against the wall. It'd been three years since Mom died. I was supposed to be stronger than this. I wasn't supposed to fall apart like this.

Had I even saved that woman? Maybe. I had no way of knowing. It was possible I'd just delayed her death a little bit longer. But it was possible that I'd bought her the time she'd needed.

A knock interrupted my thoughts. "Taylor? You okay in there?"

"Yeah. Sorry, Dad. Think I must have caught some sort of stomach bug."

"Need me to call the school and let them know?"

"No. I'll be okay. I think I got most of it out of me."

"You sure? I don't think they'd mind if you needed the day off."

"It's fine. I'll be fine, Dad."

Maybe if I kept repeating that, I'd even believe it.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"Christ, Taylor, you look like death warmed over."

I cast my baleful gaze upon Sayori, who cheerfully ignored it. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that isn't true." She poked at my cheek, but I closed my eyes and did my best to ignore it without moving my head off of my desk. It'd take too much energy to respond further. How did that poem go…? 'In Spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn'? That's how I felt about now. I'd managed to make it through the morning, but I'd been pretty out of it the entire time.

"Leave her be, Sayori. She probably needs the sleep."

"Mou." I opened a single eye to stare at Sayori, even as I tried to decipher whatever weird sound it was that she'd just made. "It's too bad Vicky and Amy aren't here today, or we could drag Taylor over to them."

I picked my head up slightly at that. "They aren't here? Did something happen?"

It was Monica who answered. "You didn't hear? The Simurgh hit Australia on Sunday. New Wave's helping with the clean up, to get infrastructure up and running again. And… Well…"

"And to help put the wall up," Sayori finished quietly.

Oh. The Endbringers were practically a force of nature, bringing inevitable destruction wherever they went. Even by their standards however, the Simurgh was a special brand of horrifying. She messed with peoples' heads, turned them into ticking time bombs that might not go off until years later. So, cities she attacked often had to be walled off, quarantined so that those infected couldn't hurt the rest of the world.

It was horrific, and Victoria and Amy were there helping deal with it while I could barely face a car crash. If I was going to be a hero, then I needed to be stronger. I needed to be better.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I loped along the rooftops, speeding up occasionally when I had to make a jump. I'd found that if I focused, pulled on my power, I could keep my jumps going just a bit farther, as if gravity pulled me ever so slightly less.

It was definitely something I'd have to practice. A Mover power, even one as small as that, would help me a lot. If nothing else, it would keep me from slipping and falling to the pavement below if I ever flubbed a jump.

Maybe that was why you never saw the actual heroes scrambling on rooftops. But they had the advantage of a backup, while I had to make do using stealth as my sole advantage. I wouldn't win if enemies could see me coming, so even if it was more dangerous, I had to take alternate routes.

I stumbled as I hit a new roof, a sudden sense of vertigo overcoming me. I slipped, rolling down the angled roof, before scrabbling to get my hand under me to stop my descent. I groaned, knowing that the way I'd rolled into the backpack I was wearing would leave me with bruises. I waited until my vision stopped swimming to sit up again, ignoring how my gut tightened.

Patrolling while sick might not have been the smartest choice, but I couldn't just lay back and do nothing.

I took a deep breath before setting off again. I drew on my power to help keep myself steady. It was useful for things like this, that feeling of life, of connection to the entire Universe. I immersed myself in it, letting it soothe away my ills. They would still be there later, but for now, I could ignore them.

I was speeding up, getting ready for the next leap, when I felt something pull at me from two streets down. Something was wrong. I wasn't sure how I knew, but something was wrong.

I changed directions. My heart thrummed, a drum that echoed with each step I took. I had to be fast. I didn't know why. I sprinted and lept from roof to roof, no longer calculating each jump, but instead simply trusting in my power to guide me. It was only as I approached my destination that I slowed down, quieting my footsteps.

A middle aged guy in a suit had been backed into an alley by three younger, Asian-looking guys. I frowned as I looked them over. They wouldn't look out of place in Winslow's halls, couldn't be older than twenty at the most. The only thing that set them apart was the tattoo peeking out of the collar of the leader of the trio and the red and green clothing marking them as members of the Azn Bad Boys.

The leader was talking, "-our territory, you got it? So you're gonna hand over your wallet like a good piggy bank, or we're gonna see if you squeal like a pig when we stick you."

One of the boys, the scrawnier of the three, flicked a knife out to emphasize Tattoo's words. The bulkier third simply crossed his arms silently. None of them seemed concerned. This wasn't something new to them, they'd all done this before. Quietly, carefully, I unzipped my backpack and floated out one of the bricks I'd carried with me.

I wasn't much of a fighter. I could barely throw a decent punch. My powers weren't much better. I couldn't lift anything especially heavy. But I could lift a brick. Gravity would do the rest.

I floated the brick out over Scrawny before letting it fall. I followed it, slamming feet-first into Tattoo. There was a cry of pain, of startlement, and Tattoo went stumbling back even as I sprung away, recovering from the fall. He was stunned, but not incapacitated. Scrawny's knife had gone skittering across the alley however, and he was left clutching at a broken wrist.

I flicked my baton out. I couldn't afford to let up for a second. There were three of them and only one of me.

_-Bulky came at me, swinging his fist high-_

I dropped down, barely managing to duck under the punch, and jammed my baton into the boy's stomach. He grunted, tried to throw another punch, but my leg darted out to hook his ankle and he went falling into a heap. He kicked at me, and I-

_-Slammed my baton into his knee, but had no time to see how effective it was, as an arm wrapped around my throat from behind and lifted me into the air-_

-Dodged the kick, letting myself fall to my hands before lifting myself to kick out behind me. My feet hit Tattoo's gut, and I let the momentum of the kick flip me forward. I landed on my feet and-

_-Scrawny lunged at me, his arms wrapping around my waist as he tried to tackle me to the ground-_

-Scrawny lunged at me and I jumped backwards. Not fast enough however, and his arms wrapped around my legs, sending the both of us to the ground. Bulky was getting up. I didn't have time for this. I leaned forward and slammed my baton into Scrawny's broken wrist.

I ignored the scream that followed, focusing instead on kicking my legs free and rolling to my feet. Bulky and Tattoo had both recovered, but they were hanging back, looking at me warily. Good. I could use that.

Tattoo was the first to break the stalemate. He charged and Bulky followed. I waited a brief second, timing Tattoo's steps, and then hooked my power around his ankle and yanked as his foot was coming down, sending him falling. His chin hit the ground. Bulky wasn't far behind however, I turned towards him and saw the approaching fist-

-I picked my head off the ground and blinked the stars from my eyes, just in time for his foot to catch me in my ribs. I rolled with it, trying to get my distance. I managed to get to my knees, but he was rushing forward to hit me again. Well, fine. I'd just hit back harder. I pulled the same trick I had with Tattoo, pushing Bulky's feet out from under him; and then I was on top of him with my baton, slamming it into his face. Once, twice, and then a third time before he stopped struggling.

I looked over the three combatants. Bulky and Tattoo were out. Scrawny was still awake, but he was cradling his arm and crying, I don't think he was in any shape to keep fighting. My heart was hammering in my chest, my breath coming in ragged gasps, but I'd won. I slowly stood to my feet and looked over at the middle-aged guy. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm- I'm alright. Thanks, Miss…?"

"Seeker. Mind calling the cops on these three?"

"Sure, I can do that."

I waited around while he dialed his phone, idly feeling at my cheek. I had the feeling I'd have a new bruise showing up there soon enough. Back to back with the whole Sophia debacle, it was going to raise questions. I really needed to keep my injuries below the neckline or find a way to heal myself.

My eyes drifted over the alleyway, catching on a glint of light. The knife that scrawny had dropped. I could take it. It'd be another weapon in an emergency. Another way to protect myself.

It was also evidence of what these three thugs had intended. More than that, it was a lethal option. If I took it out against someone, it meant I was ready to kill that person.

I didn't want to rely on that. I was a hero. I didn't want to kill anyone.

_Not even Sophia?_

I squashed that traitorous thought and turned back to the man once I heard sirens approaching. "Think you'll be okay to stick around and give a statement if I head off?"

"Yeah, I don't think these three are getting up anytime soon."

The man gave a weak smile and I returned it before running a few steps up a wall and hopping off to catch the edge of a fire escape. Pulling myself up afterwards was a bit more difficult, but all the rooftop scrambling I'd been doing lately had been helping me to build some upper body strength.

I gave the man a final wave before disappearing into the night, a satisfied smile on my face.

* * *

Two days later, I was glancing around nervously as I stepped into the school cafeteria. I'd avoided eating in here ever since the… incident with Victoria on my first day at Arcadia. Back at Winslow, eating out in the open like this, surrounded by so many people, had always been a recipe for trouble. It made it easy for the Trio to find me. Even though I knew it was different here, that no one would attack me here, my experience with Victoria's aura had only managed to deepen that anxiety.

Still, I forced myself forward. New Wave had apparently gotten back from Australia sometime last night. I scanned over the room and… Yes, there was Victoria, holding court once again. She was talking and laughing, a gaggle of both girls and guys sitting at her table with her. And like a shadow, Amy sat at the edge of the table, her head resting on her arms.

I slipped in next to her, largely unnoticed by the rest of the crowd, and gently nudged her with my elbow. "Hey there."

Amy jerked up, startled, and I caught Victoria glancing our way for a second. She shot a smirk at me, but quickly turned her attention back to her current group of friends. Was that her being considerate by not drawing attention to Amy and me? Or were her other friends just more important?

"Um… Hi." Amy was looking at me strangely. "Did you need something, Taylor?"

"I just um… I was just wanting to check up on you, I guess? I mean, see how you were doing after everything with the Simurgh?"

"Oh. Well, it's not like I was actually at the fight itself. I'm fine."

"That's good. I mean, I knew that. That you weren't at the fight, that is. But…" Ugh, why can't I just hold a normal conversation? "Well, it's the Simurgh. I'm sure it had to be awful even just cleaning up, right?"

Amy looked down, her hair falling to hide her face from view. "I guess. Was that it?"

"No. I was thinking, if it's not too much trouble for you, we could…"

Amy looked back up at me and rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out already."

"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out again sometime?"

"Sure," she said flatly, "I'll ask Vicky when she's available for you."

I frowned. That's not… "I wasn't asking to hang out with Vicky. I wanted to hang out with you."

Amy opened her mouth only to close it again, her brow furrowing as she stared intently at my face. I shifted back under the scrutiny. "What?"

"Nothing. Fine, I guess we can 'hang out.' Carol said I should take a few days off from the Hospital anyways, so it's not like I've got much else going on. What did you have in mind?"

"I er…" I hadn't really planned that far ahead. I considered how much cash I had and winced inwardly. "I guess we could grab a coffee or something and maybe see a movie? I didn't really…"

Amy snorted softly, but her lips curved upwards for the first time since I'd sat down. "Sure. We'll figure something out later. Meet you after school?"

I let a hesitant smile of my own form in response. "Sounds good."

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I'd quickly made my retreat from the cafeteria after that.

I wasn't sure why I was trying so hard to be friends with Amy. She hadn't exactly been the most friendly or pleasant person to be around so far. Sure, she was Panacea, but I'd like to think it wasn't out of some sense of cape worship.

I searched my feelings, trying to figure out my own reasoning. I guess when it came down to it, Amy's standoffishness was the exact reason why I'd impulsively decided to reach out to her. She hadn't felt the need to pretend to be nice to me out of some sense of pity. I think… if she decided to be my friend, it would be because I'd earned it.

I passed the rest of the school day with those thoughts circling in my head, occasionally chased by the worry that she _wouldn't_ like me in the end, that I wouldn't be able to stand on my own merits. I cut off that line of thinking whenever it came up.

In the end, I found myself waiting out by the school's entrance when I spotted Amy… with Victoria in tow. I tried to keep the frown off my face.

"Heeey!" Victoria waved with a grin. "Don't look so disappointed to see me, Taytay, I'm not going to interrupt you two." She winked and Amy looked upwards as though searching Heaven for help that wouldn't come. "I just wanted to talk to you really quick before you left."

"...Sure. What's up, Vicky?"

"Did you decide on if it was alright for me to tell Dean? I know things kind of got pushed off with…" Victoria's smile faltered for a moment and she took a deep breath. "Stuff that happened at the start of the week. But I do think he could help."

I hadn't decided. I'd actually kind of forgot with everything else that had happened. "I… don't really see how, Vicky. I guess it couldn't actually hurt though. Set something up for Friday and I'll talk to him about it."

"Great! Then I'll let him know his presence is required. In the meantime, you two should go enjoy your date."

I blinked. "Date?"

"Ignore her," Amy interjected before Victoria could answer. "It's her way of teasing me. You ready to go, Taylor?"

"Um-"

"Aw, come on, Ames. I didn't even get to question her about her intentions towards my sister yet," Victoria pouted.

"Who even does that anyways? Come on, Taylor."

Amy grabbed my arm and pulled me along, heedless of my response. I turned my head back to look at Victoria, who simply grinned and waved the two of us off. Well, that was a thing.

I waited until we'd walked a good block of distance and Amy's pace had slowed down again before asking, "So what was that about a date?"

Amy's face turned an interesting shade of pink and she huffed, "Just my Sister being annoying. She's constantly trying to find someone to pair me up with. Though, I'll admit, this is her first time trying to throw me at another girl."

"That seems…" Uncomfortable? Exasperating? "Annoying. Couldn't you just tell her you're not interested, or you want to find something on your own?"

Amy shrugged and pulled me across the street to a bookstore. "Over here, I wanted to pick something up as long as we're out and about. Anyways, I've tried that, but she sees things through _Dean_-tinted glasses. She's happy dating him, so clearly everyone else would also be happy if they just found their one true love. Never mind how often the two of them get into fights."

Wow, there was a bit of venom in that. Did Amy have a problem with Dean? "So what made her decide the two of us ought to be a couple?"

"Don't know, don't care." Amy navigated us down the aisles, apparently familiar enough with the store to know where everything was kept. She pulled a book off a shelf - something fantasy, though I didn't recognize the author's name. "Was there anything you wanted here?"

"Um. Not today. Maybe next time." I didn't have the money to buy a new book anyways.

"If you say so. Anyways, don't be surprised if Vicky starts trying to find people to hook you up with too once it becomes obvious that teasing me isn't going anywhere."

"I don't suppose you know a way to keep her from doing that?"

"If I did, I would have done it for myself a long time ago," Amy said dryly. "No, with Vicky, you have to learn that she gets her way and the best you can do is put up with it."

I grimaced and let my thoughts turn inwards as Amy paid for her book. For a brief moment, I allowed memories of when Emma and I had gossipped together about our future romances to float through my head before shoving them aside to focus on the present. I really didn't need my own personal matchmaker. Maybe I'd let something happen if I found someone I liked, but… Well, I wasn't about to go _looking _for any sort of romance. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth, especially with my new cape identity taking up my time.

"Come on," Amy said, interrupting my train of thought, "Let's get that coffee you promised me."

I didn't have any real objections to that, so we wandered over to the attached café that so many bookstores seemed to rely on to help push up their flagging sales these days. It was on the smaller side, much like the bookstore itself had been, with only two tables to sit at near a window that looked out towards the street.

We sat there for a bit, Amy idly watching the people go by outside as she sipped at her coffee. I was the one to finally break the silence.

"So what book did you get?"

"Mm?" Amy blinked in surprise as her attention snapped back to me. "Oh, it's… a romance fantasy series, I guess? It's in a fantasy setting, but it's very focused on the relationship between the two main characters."

I glanced down at the cover, which prominently featured a blonde woman in some sort of knightly armor. Another woman was behind her, facing away from the viewer. "Is the series a favorite of yours?"

"Well…" I felt a small thread of embarrassment waft off of Amy. I did my best to ignore it. I didn't want to have to rely on my powers for basic social interaction. It felt like I was cheating somehow. "It's not exactly high literature, but I enjoy it, I suppose."

"Maybe I can borrow the first book from you sometime then?"

The embarrassment strengthened to the point that I felt my own ears burning. Amy muttered a quick, "Yeah, maybe later sometime," before quickly changing the subject. "So what is it that you usually do for fun, Taylor? I get the feeling that 'coffee and a movie' isn't your usual go to."

"Oh, uh. It isn't really." It's not like I usually had anyone to go with anyways. "I guess I just read mostly? And I've been meditating recently."

"Meditating? I wouldn't have pegged you for that sort of New Age-y type."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to claim I'm somehow tapping into the consciousness of the Universe, Amy." Even though I sort of was? That was my powers though, it didn't count. "It's just… After everything that happened at Winslow, I had a lot of pent up anger and… other stuff that I just wasn't happy feeling. It hasn't gone away, but meditation does help me deal with it. It gives me a way to sort through my emotions."

"Huh. And that works?"

"Like I said, it helps. You could join me sometime if you want to give it a try. I certainly wouldn't mind the company."

The corner of Amy's mouth twitched upwards. "I'm not really the 'clear your mind' type. Even if I were, my power's basically throwing information at me all the time. I don't think I'd get very far with it."

I tilted my head back. How to explain this. "It's not really clearing your mind. At least, not how you're probably thinking about it. You're not trying to think about nothing at all. It's more… letting your thoughts come and then pass on without lingering. I mean, if you don't want to, I won't force you to or anything, I just think it's been really helpful for me."

Amy glanced away, a complex whirl of emotions sweeping through her that I had trouble identifying, loudly enough that even with me trying not to tap into that portion of my powers, I still heard it. "I'll think about it."

"Sure, no pressure." I gave her a smile and finished my coffee. There goes the last of my savings. Ah well. "So did you have any plans for the rest of the evening?"

"Not really. Just going to call Vicky to give me a ride home. You want to stick around? I'm sure she wouldn't mind the detour to get you home as well."

I shifted, unsure if I wanted to take Amy up on the offer. After a moment I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I'll just catch the bus home. Less time for her to grill us about our supposed 'date' that way."

Amy let out a sharp laugh. "Well, I suppose that's fair enough. Until next time then, Taylor?"

I grinned in response. "Yeah, until next time."

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

The bus ride home went about the same as it usually did. I sat near the back and did my best to seem unobtrusive.

There weren't too many other passengers. An elderly looking Asian woman. A Black man in worker's coveralls. A pair of teenage boys playing on their phones. The problem was the group of three white guys near the front.

They weren't wearing gang colors and they weren't skinheads, but you live in Brockton Bay long enough and you get a feel for when a group of people are probably Empire. When the Black guy got off the bus they jeered insults at him. When a Hispanic-looking woman got on, they stuck their foot out to trip her.

In short, they were bullies, the kind of people I hated the most.

They never escalated to anything beyond that, thankfully. The gangs generally tried to avoid picking fights in Brockton Bay's public transit for whatever reason. Still, I was happy when my stop came and I had a chance to get away from it all.

I rushed off. The sooner I was home, the better. At least, that's what I'd thought until I got there and came to a dead stop, my breath catching in my throat.

There was a cop car parked outside my house.


	7. Slave 1-6

The police had been unable to find Sophia.

They'd picked up the two morons that she'd gotten to help her attack me and asked me to come in to identify them out of a lineup, but Sophia herself had gone missing. Apparently she hadn't returned home or gone to school in the past week.

I would have liked to think that she'd simply run away or been a victim of one of the gangs, but I knew better. The coward had gone to ground. She would be back once the heat was off. It wasn't in her nature to let this go. The insult would be too much for her to bear.

Dread churned in my gut. Would she come after me again? Or would she go after Dad? Or maybe Emma? I lowered my face into my hands and took a steadying breath.

"You doing okay?"

A reassuring hand settled on my back and I looked up to give a small smile to Victoria. "Yeah. It's just…"

"Hey, you're worried. I get that."

I nodded slightly and glanced over at Dean, who had been looking increasingly uncomfortable with each new detail of the story I'd told him. Victoria followed my gaze and asked, "So what do you think? Can you think of a way for me to track this girl down? I was thinking of maybe talking to the Wards about helping if I needed to."

"I mean… Do you even need to find her? It sounds like she ran when she heard the police were looking for her."

"Dean… I don't even know the girl and I know that's stupid. Who do you think she'll blame for reporting her to the police?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I get that she's probably a bit overly… aggressive. But even if she's a bully, she probably cares more about intimidation and scare tactics, right? Most bullies are just trying to establish some sort of social dominance. It doesn't mean she'll seriously come after Taylor now, especially with the police after her."

"Are you kidding?" Victoria's chair skidded back across the floor as she leapt to her feet. She glared at Dean, but it was me who cringed back. _Run. Get away. Escape._ I squeezed my fists tight and forced my breathing to calm down. "Taylor had bruises around her throat, Dean! Choking someone out is a lot more than just intimidation and scare tactics!"

Dean shifted silently under Victoria's gaze and didn't respond. Why was he trying so hard to defend Sophia? I frowned slightly and closed my eyes to instead reach out with my feelings. He was… conflicted? Why? There wasn't any doubt. He believed us. Or at least, he believed that we believed what we were saying. And yet… he didn't want to believe us? Why? What stake did he have in it?

I paused as it came to me. "You know her." My words, barely more than a whisper, cut through Victoria's shouting as she turned to look questioning at me. "That's why you're trying to excuse her. You know her. You're friends with her somehow."

Dean went wide-eyed, confirming to me that, yes, my guess was correct after all. Victoria just looked back and forth between the two of us for a moment before asking in a hard tone, "She's right, isn't she? You do know Sophia. How?"

He licked at his lips, his eyes locked on Victoria. "From the- From my work, Vicky."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Victoria threw her hands up into the air before grabbing my hand and tugging me out of my seat. She growled out, "C'mon, Taylor, let's get out of here. Sorry I wasted your time with this."

"Vicky, wait-"

"I don't want to hear it right now, Dean."

She pulled me out of the room. I glanced back and spotted Dean resting his head in his hands, before we moved away from the classroom entirely. "Are you sure you want to leave things like that? I mean… I don't want to make things awkward with the two of you."

"It's not your fault, Taylor. It's just…" Victoria pressed her lips into a tight line for a moment before continuing. "Dean always sees the best in people. He always wants to give them the chance to live up to that. And I love that about him."

"But sometimes giving people chances just means letting them do whatever they want."

"Yeah." Victoria sighed. "Sometimes words and hope isn't enough. It's why heroes like me are out there to begin with. Sometimes you have to act. Sometimes people have to be stopped."

I turned the words over in my head. Sometimes words and hope weren't enough. Sometimes you have to act.

"Hey," Victoria interjected, interrupting my thoughts. "So you know Spring Break is next week, right? I was thinking, our family was planning a get-together barbeque thing. You could come hang out if you like? That way I could introduce you to Crystal and Eric and you could help keep Amy from hiding away in her room."

I blinked. "Is that really okay? I mean, if it's a family thing…"

Victoria waved her hand. "It's fine. We bring friends over for this sort of stuff all the time. I mean, normally I'd bring Dean, but I think I'm going to let him stew for a bit after today. So you get to be my replacement plus one."

"Gee, lucky me," I drawled.

Victoria winked in response. "You know it. So come on, you up for it?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled despite myself. "Let me check my schedule and make sure I don't have anything else going on, alright?"

"Sure, sure. And if you can't make it, it's not a big deal, just thought it'd be nice to have you."

I smiled at that. I'd been doubtful of Victoria at first. Her status here at Arcadia had reminded me too much of how Emma had ruled over Winslow. But for all the similarities I saw between the two, I think Victoria was a genuinely good person at heart. More than that, she was a true hero, the sort that didn't just put on an act, but raged against injustice. Perhaps that could go too far - I'd heard the phrase 'Collateral Damage Barbie' circled about on PHO a few times - but I was beginning to be confident that it came from a genuine place of passion.

I paused and squashed the current of awe that was beginning to thread through my emotions. My opinions hadn't changed. I think that if Victoria had been at Winslow, she would have spoken out the bullying that went on there.

On some level, that was the sort of person I wanted to be. The sort of hero I wanted to be. It was like an itch under my skin, the urge to do more with my power than just beat up criminals, but to instead be a leader, to speak against injustice and have my voice be heard.

Sometimes words and hope weren't enough.

If I wanted to help anyone, then maybe I first had to help myself and stop relying on others to fix things for me. I would have to act to protect myself. Sophia was always going to be a threat as long as she went uncaught, and I didn't want to spend my time looking over my shoulder or worrying over her attacking my dad.

The police hadn't been able to catch her and Victoria hadn't been able to find her. If I was going to do better, then I needed more information.

Good thing I knew just who to talk to get it.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

I pressed the button and listened to the doorbell echo through the house. It'd always struck me as something odd when I visited, but rather than a short, abbreviated two-note ring, the Barnes' doorbell played the more drawn out Westminster Chime. It was an uncomfortable reminder of Winslow, which had used the same melody for it's bell.

The door opened to Zoe Barnes' smiling face. "Hey Taylor. It's good to see you over again."

"Hi." I hesitated, unsure how to refer to her. Miss Barnes felt too formal, but I didn't feel completely comfortable referring to her as Aunt Zoe anymore. Just referring to her by name felt weird though. I decided to just dodge the issue. "Is Emma home?"

"She's in her room. Go on and head up there. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

I wasn't so sure, but I walked up the stairs towards Emma's room anyways. I still wasn't sure how I wanted to approach this. If I wanted to demand information or wheedle it out of her. I just knew I needed answers. I paused in front of her door before knocking quietly.

Emma's voice answered. "What is it, Mom? I'm busy!"

"Not your Mom. Are you too busy for me too?"

There was a thud from the other side of the door and a moment later Emma was yanking it open. "Taylor!" She rushed out, a flurry of red hair flowing behind her as she wrapped her arms around me. "God, I'm glad you're okay. When the police came by… I mean…"

I let out a slow breath and forced myself not to pull away, to simply stay still and let her hug me. Where had all this concern been a year ago? I just didn't understand. Couldn't understand.

"I get it. It's okay, Emma."

"It's not okay. She's dangerous and I stupidly made you a target by blowing her off."

I put my hands on her shoulders and slowly pushed her away. "It's okay, Emma. I'm not helpless. Now come on, I wanted to ask you about something."

She nodded and led me inside and I quietly closed the door behind us. I waited until she sat on her bed to ask my first question. "What has you so convinced she's dangerous anyways, Emma? I mean, she's violent, sure, but this seems like more than that."

Emma bit down on her lip. She was afraid. So afraid that it filled the room. So afraid that I felt as though I was choking on it. Why? What was it about Sophia that had her so scared?

"Emma. It's okay. You can tell me."

"I shouldn't. I'm not supposed to and she'll definitely come after both of us if she knows I told you." Emma shivered and pulled her legs up, hugging her knees to her chest. "But… You need to know. You need to know why she's dangerous."

"Emma… what kind of big secret is this that has you acting like she'll murder us if you tell me?"

Emma was quiet for a long moment before answering. "She's a cape, Taylor. She's Shadow Stalker."

I froze as everything suddenly clicked into place. This is how she could get into my locker to trash my stuff even when I'd changed the lock. Because she had powers. Shadow Stalker supposedly had some sort of power to go intangible. More than that though, was that this was the reason Blackwell always overlooked whatever she did. It wasn't because she was a track star. It was because she was a Ward. A Hero.

How was someone like that a Hero? How did someone like that have the backing of the Protectorate? Were they just ignorant of what sort of person she was? Or had they just ignored whatever she did the same way Blackwell had?

My thoughts came to a stop. Dean had defended her. Dean had known her from "work." I felt my nails bite into the palms of my hands.

"Taylor, there's more." Emma's voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was pale, trembling as she pushed the words out.

"She's killed people before."

* * *

Once again, I found myself hopping along the roofs of the Docks. After Emma's revelation, I felt the need to take out my unbridled anger upon some hapless criminals. Not that I would seriously harm them. I was a better Hero than Sophia ever would be, and I'd be sure to prove it.

Just as soon as I found any crime to stop.

I let out a frustrated sigh and sat down, my legs dangling over the edge. How did the Heroes go about finding crime all the time anyways? Just leaving it up to luck like this felt inefficient. Surely there was some way for me to monitor the city for goings on? Maybe I could get an old police radio and listen in for any reports on their channels… except I would probably need money for that, and I was broke. I put it on the list, right next to a cheap cell phone to call the police with.

I suddenly found myself very sympathetic for how the adult members of New Wave all had day jobs. Maybe I needed one myself. Except, who would hire a fifteen year old? The cinema, maybe. Or I could babysit, but that wasn't exactly steady work.

It's not like I had the time anyways. Between school, and training, and actually patrolling the city, it felt like I was constantly busy with something these days. Case in point, Zoe had caught me on my way out of the Barnes' to invite me to dinner next week. I guess Anne and a friend of hers from Cornell were going to be back visiting for Spring Break. A part of me wanted to go. I hadn't ever been as close to Emma's older sister as I had been to Emma herself, but there was still a connection there, from back before Emma had betrayed me.

The only problem was, that the dinner was the same day as the Dallons' barbeque that Victoria had invited me to. Emma had looked hopeful when I said I'd think about it, and I was supposedly trying to fix things between us… but if I were being honest, I would probably enjoy visiting the Dallons more. There was less baggage there.

Well, I'd give it some thought. I didn't have to give an answer right away. I could -

A sharp staccato that anyone who had lived in Brockton Bay would recognize rang out to the south. I cursed under my breath and scrambled to get to my feet before sprinting to the south, chasing after the gunfire.

For all my hurry however, it was still a good three minutes of travel, flinching every time I heard another shot go off. I drew on my powers, trying to let them fuel me as best I was able, to make every second count. To never miss a jump. To climb faster than I should have been capable of. I finally leapt down a story and rolled before coming to a stop, taking a brief second to look over the conflict below.

Five guys dressed in ABB colors had formed a semi-circle facing a car on the street. A red hood peeked out from behind the car for a moment, only to immediately duck back down, as one of the ABB thugs fired a shot in their direction. A moment later, a broken half of a skateboard shot out from under the car to slam into a man's ankles before returning itself back to whoever had hunkered down back there.

The man cursed and hopped on one leg for a moment, but I don't think the attack had actually broken anything. I frowned, trying to figure out who was back there. Clearly it was a parahuman of some sort. I saw the hood pop out for a brief second again and it clicked. Rune. The Empire's new telekinetic. What was she doing here in ABB territory?

There were another series of gunshots, but Rune had gone back to hiding. Things went quiet and one of the men started shuffling to the side to try and flank her, only to cry out in pain as half a skateboard flew out to smack him in the face. A moment later, a set of bolts and the car's hubcap followed, harrying the man as he retreated.

I frowned. The five ABB guys were cowards, but they were clearly willing to at least wait Rune out and shoot her if she tried to leave. I didn't have all that much in the way of sympathy for a Nazi, but the longer this went on, the greater chance there was that someone got shot - either Rune, or some civilian in their house, hit by a stray bullet. Plus, if the five guys hadn't already called for reinforcements, all the shooting would probably draw other gang members before too much longer.

I grimaced as I noticed someone leaning out of their window with a cellphone, filming the confrontation. Yeah, that was just asking for something to go wrong. On the other hand… I wasn't really established on the cape scene. If I jumped out now, I could end up getting associated with the Empire and labeled a villain. If I waited…

If I waited I could let them whittle each other down. Let Rune take down one or two of the guys before sweeping in to arrest both the ABB goons and the Villain in one swoop. It was a cold thing, willing to risk injury to others for the sake of my own reputation.

I bit down on my lip. How would that be any different from every person who had seen what I'd gone through at Winslow and simply ignored it? Whether for their own ease or safety or to keep the same thing from happening to them? Hadn't I just told myself that I would act? That I would be better as a Hero?

Another gunshot rang out, swiftly followed by the crack of the hubcap against a man's wrist. My nails dug into my hands. I saw Rune poke her head out from behind the car as another man's knee bent backwards with a sharp snap. Why was I still hesitating? A bolt smacked against a man's fingers and his gun fell to the ground.

I didn't realize what happened at first. Rune slumped to the ground, the objects she had been manipulating falling with her. The sound of the gun's misfire blended in with the poorly aimed shots that the ABB thugs had been taking. My breath caught. Rune wasn't moving. One of the guys was saying something about putting a bullet in her head to be sure, but I didn't have the mind to listen any more. I slipped down, hanging off the edge of the roof before letting myself drop the rest of the way. The ABB hadn't noticed me yet, and I had to use that for all it was worth.

The first guy went down hard and fast. I wrapped my power around his ankles and yanked, sending him sprawling. His gun went skittering away, and with a push, I sent it further. His grunt of pain brought the attention of the other four however.

"Cape!" I ignored the shout and brought my baton across a man's broken wrist. The pain made him drop his gun, and I immediately sent it flying to join the first. Two gone, three to go. Disarming these five was the first priority. I really didn't want to test my ability to dodge bullets. I turned to the next and-

_-jerked back as something heavy hit my shoulder. A second gun went off and I felt another impact in my gut-_

-Fell into a slide. I'd been drawing on my power a bit to push myself through roof hopping, but on a smaller scale, maybe I could keep myself moving even when I was prone. I let myself move between the legs of the asshole who would have shot me and then spun to my feet behind him, my leg lashing out to sweep his from under him.

I grabbed the gun before he could land on it and sent it to the pile. Next guy was the one with the broken leg and… he'd put his gun down and hands into the air. Alright, I could work with that. I took just enough time to push his gun away and-

_-Felt an arm wrap around my neck, lifting me in a choke hold-_

-Ducked down, spinning around to jab my baton into the final man's stomach. I followed it up by stomping on his foot and then bringing my fist across his jaw. He went down in a heap and I sent his gun to the small pile. The others were starting to get back up, but they were eyeing me warily. They didn't have the same stomach for a fight that the three in the alley had a few nights ago. Too used to using the threat of guns to getting their way, maybe.

I jerked my head. "Leave the guns and get out here."

I grinned as they scrambled off. I had to admit there was a certain pleasure in being able to scare off these sorts of goons before they had a chance to put up a fight. True, they'd just gotten finished fighting one cape and another had shown up to kick their ass within seconds. It was probably enough to knock the fight out of most people.

I took a moment to glance around, before heading over to Rune. The guy with the broken leg had been left behind, but he probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Rune though… I turned her over and let out a hiss. The bullet had punched through her shoulder. Even beyond that though, her leg was bent at a sickening angle, and there was a smear of blood on the pavement under her broken skateboard. Had she just been flying through the area and the ABB had shot her out of the air?

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and focused on my power. I focused on my connection to the world around me. I focused on my connection to the energy that flowed through everything. Most of all, I focused on my connection to her. Her breathing was shallow. Her heartbeat was faint. But it was still there. I poured myself into her, strengthening her at cost to myself.

I still didn't have a good grasp on this part of my power. I knew what I was doing was inefficient, that I could pull on the energy that surrounded us to help. But I didn't know how, and I couldn't afford to take the time to figure it out right now, anymore than I could when I'd been faced with that car crash.

It was inefficient. But it was enough. Rune's eyes fluttered open and stared up at me. I met her startlingly vibrant gray eyes and gave her a smile. She'd live. I'd see about getting her to the PRT - I can't imagine that she'd done enough as a villain yet that they wouldn't want to try and rehabilitate her. I'd-

My body jerked forward. What was… It felt like something had punched me in the shoulder. Why was Rune suddenly scared again? I turned. The guy with the broken leg had moved. He'd crawled over to the pile of guns that I'd left lying in the street. I tried to focus on what was in his hand, but everything was so blurry.

Then, there was darkness.

**·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·**

"-Flying in ABB territory? I've told you before that you have to be careful around those animals."

I woke wanting to groan. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. Still, I forced myself not to. I didn't know where I was. It wasn't the hospital. The bed I was in felt too comfortable, too normal for that. I cracked my eyes open and winced as the light hit them.

"I was just headed to the library. I thought it'd be fine as long as I was flying. Didn't think anyone other than maybe Oni Lee would bother me, and at least I'd be able to see him coming."

The room was empty, but the door was cracked and voices were coming from down the hall. The room itself was… homely, I guess. It had a certain garishness, not from the decorations themselves being extravagant, but from being decorated by the sort of person who felt every inch of space had to be covered in something. Pictures and crosses and kitschy art projects lined the walls and dressers. The covers of the bed had lace frills.

Great, I'd been taken back to the house of someone's Aunt.

I rolled my eyes and quietly slid out of bed. I had to bite back a whimper of pain, but it seemed to fade a bit once I got myself moving. I stopped in front of a mirror. My hood had fallen back, revealing my dark hair, but my mask was thankfully still in place. A bullet hole laced through the shoulder, exposing pale skin beneath. I stared for a moment, and then raised my hood once more.

A man's voice spoke up. "So what's the deal with the Cape? Do we know who she is?"

"I don't know. She saved my life though, and those bastards shot her in the back. Will she…?"

"She'll be fine. Probably sore for a few days, but everything major has healed at this point. You, on the other hand, will be limping around for the next few days."

I peeked out my door. There were three people in the other room. I recognized Rune's costume immediately, though she had her hood down, revealing blonde hair beneath. The other two took me a minute to piece together. A woman in a red, skintight bodysuit - Othala, the Empire's healer and trump. She could grant powers at a touch, ranging from invincibility to pyrokinesis. The man next to her would be her husband, Victor. He could supposedly steal skills from people. A visit to a dojo was all it took for him to become a master martial artist, all at the cost of the people training there.

I guess that explained why I didn't have any extra breathing holes right now.

Victor tilted his head and asked, "Haven't heard of any new Wards, and she doesn't strike me as a Merchant. Think she's a new Independent?"

"I don't know. It makes sense, I guess," Rune replied.

"I suppose we could always ask her." Victor turned and looked at the doorway I was hiding behind. "You can come out, you know. We won't bite."

Rune's head snapped around to look at me. Well, so much for listening in. I pushed the door open and stepped out. "You sure about that?"

"Cross my heart," he replied dryly.

Othala spoke up. "I'm surprised you're out of bed. I was expecting you'd be sleeping things off for a bit longer. The Regeneration only goes so far."

"I guess I'm just tough that way. I suppose the two of you rescued us?"

Victor nodded. "Rune had already managed an emergency call. I might not have been in time if not for your intervention, however."

Rune flashed me a smile. "Thank you for that, by the way. I don't suppose my hero has a name?"

"Seeker," I replied, trying to ignore the heat suddenly creeping through my face.

"Seeker. I don't suppose you've had any run-ins with the Protectorate, yet?" Victor asked. "Heard their little speech about joining the Wards?"

"No. Should I have?"

"There's a statistic they like to quote. Most independents don't last longer than six months. Having a team, or even just a partner, is a big step in making sure that you don't end up shot in the back."

"Is this a recruitment pitch?"

"Yes and no. I would prefer you join us, obviously. You saved Rune at personal cost to yourself, and I think that's an admirable trait. I don't have that same admiration for the Protectorate, who often care more about their optics than making an actual difference in this city. However, I would still prefer to see you join them and have people to support you, than to see you as a corpse in six months, Seeker."

I folded my arms. "Talking about making a difference seems pretty out of place, seeing as how you're part of the biggest gang in the city, Victor."

"Crime will always exist. Kaiser believes in keeping it civilized, in protecting the common civilians. The same can't be said for the ABB, who kidnap women off the street to sell into prostitution. Nor can it be said for the Merchants, who force their poison on innocents."

"Yeah… You'll protect people. Unless they happen to be Hispanic, Black, Asian, Jewish, or Gay."

He shook his head. "I will admit that some of our membership takes our rhetoric too far. It is an unfortunate reality of a large organization that is focused on mass recruitment, that not every member lives up to our standards. The Empire as whole doesn't endorse violence based purely on ethnicity or orientation, Seeker."

I frowned. Went unsaid was that while the Empire didn't endorse violence, it didn't really discourage it either. And the so called rhetoric taken too far, still talked about how the "lesser" races were lost souls who needed a guiding hand at best, or degenerate beasts who needed to be kept away from "civilized" society at worst.

"Right. Was there anything else you wanted? Otherwise, I'll be going home."

Rune piped up. "Um, I wrote down my number. Give me a call sometime if you want a partner while you go hero'ing. No strings attached, just someone to watch your back."

I let her press the scrap of paper into my hand and shifted uncomfortably. She seemed genuinely happy to have the chance. I wonder if on some level, she'd grown up wanting to be a hero as well, only to end up with the Empire instead.

Finally, I muttered, "I'll think about it," and turned away to head out the door.


	8. Interludes 1-x

Laura padded quietly down the street, hood drawn up against the light rain. It wasn't exactly her favorite weather to be out in, but it was ideal for what she planned to be doing tonight.

Namely, robbing a Check 'n Go.

She scowled as she paused across the street from the place. She didn't feel guilty over the choice - these payday loan places preyed on the poor and the needy and strangled the life out of them. This was just a bit of karma. No, it was just that it felt so _small_. So _petty_. She'd been a big name back in Hartford. Not the sort of big that could stick around to tangle with Legend, sure, but she'd been respected. Feared. Then Mouse Protector had apparently decided that the on and off clashes they had weren't enough and had made it her personal mission to bring Laura down.

Every time she went out to rob a place, Mouse Protector was there. Every time she and her friends fled back to a safehouse, Mouse Protector followed. They'd left for Providence and Mouse Protector had still shown up!

So here she was, in Boston, with the rest of the gang split up, robbing some piddly place to get the cash for food because she couldn't seem to get rid of the bitch. God, she didn't even know what excuse she'd be able to give Karen about having moved again when she called next time.

How long until Karen pieced together that Laura was actually the Villain who kept moving to all the same cities at the same time Laura did?

She sighed and strode up to the door. Locked for the evening, but that had been expected. Breaking the glass would trip the alarm and send the police scrambling, but she hoped she'd be done here by the time they arrived. It'd taken a careful two days and a papercut on the manager's finger to figure out how to open the safe here.

Laura raised the brick that she'd brought to smash through the door. Before she could however, a pebble bounced off the door and hit her in the forehead. What…? No. No, no, no, no!

"Halt evildoer! Though the city may sleep, Justice never does!" A woman stood atop the building behind her, the mouse ears of her helmet stark against the night. She swept an arm back, letting her cape flutter in the breeze.

"No! How? How did you find me?! How are you already here?!"

"A mouse is small and can go unnoticed: but there is no limit to what a brave heart and a fearless spirit can achieve."

"No, fuck you, that's not an actual answer! Just go away and leave me alone already!"

Mouse Protector tossed a small pebble down, and with a small pop, appeared in front of Laura with sword and shield in hand. "I _mouse_ ask you a question, Ravager. Do you remember that bank heist you pulled last year? The one where your whole group managed to disappear right out from under the Protectorate's nose?"

She did. The crew had actually pretended to escape while hiding themselves as hostages. She'd had to give herself a scar to sell the part. "What of it?"

"You hurt a friend of mine, Ravager. I'm bringing you in this time." Mouse Protector's voice had gone deadly quiet, a marked change from her usual bluster and cheer. The silence afterwards stretched out for a long, tense moment before she spoke up again, her persona returned. "So I suggest you surrender yourself now, Ravvy! We can do this the easy way… or the _Mouse_ way."

Fuck. So Mouse Protector did have a grudge. Laura took a step back, carefully drawing the machete she kept at her waist. "That wasn't even a pun, you idiot. Anyways, get lost already. I don't care what happened to your friend, and I'll do worse to you if you keep coming at me like this."

"Aw, I knew you loved the puns, Ravvy. Be warned however, that if you continue down this path, then I shall be forced to use my weapons of _mouse_ destruction."

Laura squinted. "Wouldn't that mean they'd be hurting you?"

"...Well, nevermind that. En garde!"

With that, Mouse Protector threw a scattering of pebbles at Laura. She knew it was largely a distraction, as the Heroine appeared behind her with a faint pop a moment later. Laura had fought Mouse Protector enough times to anticipate it though, and her machete was ready to meet the Heroine's sword.

"Not bad! But you can do _cheddar_ than that!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Laura growled and kicked out to try and sweep Mouse Protector's feet, only for the Heroine to disappear again with a faint pop. Laura immediately threw herself to the side, dodging the sword strike that came from behind. God, that teleportation was bullshit to fight against. She just needed to score one good hit though. One good hit and Mouse Protector would have to fall back to treat it, keep it from festering. One good hit and Laura would have a tag on the Heroine, letting her know whenever she was coming.

Of course, Mouse Protector's power made it incredibly difficult to land that hit.

"Never! Mine is the mouth of Justice, and my words are Wisdom."

Laura waited for the small pop before spinning to intercept Mouse Protector's sword, parrying it aside and driving her knee up into the Heroine's gut. She popped away a second later before Laura could follow-up, but it was still a moment of vindication. "Yours is the mouth of a moron. Just crawl back into whatever hole you came out of already."

There was a pop and… Wait, Mouse Protector was in front of her this time? And not attacking? There was a wide smile on her face… "You did it Ravvy! You punned!"

"No. No! That wasn't a pun!"

"It was! I'm so proud." Mouse Protector wiped a nonexistent tear from her eye. Laura responded by punching her. She barely skimmed Mouse Protector's chin however; the Heroine fell backwards into a handstand and held the pose for a moment before flipping to her feet. "Now that was just rude."

"Your face is rude."

Mouse Protector stared at her and Laura fought to keep the blush from her face. "Uh. Wow. Are you _fur_ real?"

"Yeah, that was uh." Could she just rewind time and get a do-over? "Maybe we should just - SNEAK ATTACK!"

Laura lashed out as she shouted. Mouse Protector seemed like she was taken more off guard by the sudden shouting than the actual attack. _Just as planned_. It totally wasn't to cover up the stupidity that she'd just engaged in. Not at all.

In fact, it was such a good plan that the tip of the machete just barely managed to nick the Heroine's arm as she jumped away. Laura grinned as the small cut began to smoke and she felt an awareness slide into her mind. Mouse Protector teleported to the side and Laura followed with an instinctive knowledge of where the Heroine was.

Another stroke and she cut across Mouse Protector's thigh. The Heroine was on the back foot now, each of her teleporting strikes anticipated by Laura and countered with a swift slash. Behind, two feet to the right, now to the left, the right again. Mouse Protector was trying to regain the offensive, but Laura knew exactly where she would be now and that made countering… Not easy exactly, but it still gave her the advantage in their exchanges.

Another pop and Laura spun, her fist coming around to smash into Mouse Protector's face. The Heroine went down in a heap and Laura immediately took off running for where she'd left her bike. Fuck, that'd felt good to finally do. Hopefully the cuts she'd left Mouse Protector with would delay any sort of chase long enough for her to lose the idiot this time. If Mouse Protector _was _stupid enough not to get them treated, they'd fester and rot and leave her with one less arm and leg to fight with.

The question was where to go now?

She could head west, try to make her way to Albany or maybe even towards Canada. Or she could double back south, lose the Mouse in New York. Laura shook her head at that. Mouse Protector was one of the inaugural Wards. Even if she'd left the Protectorate, she'd still have Legend's backup if things came down to it, and that was one thing Laura didn't want to deal with.

No, the further away she was from that the better. Brockton Bay was supposed to be a mess with the amount of villains they had running around right? What was one more added to the pile?

Laura ran into the deepening storm.

* * *

"Enhanced reflexes of some sort for sure. She's dodging hits, but it's just speed, not training. Some sort of enhanced senses as well. She dodged that guy who came at her from behind… Wait, she started dodging before he even moved. Some sort of combat precog, maybe."

Thomas Calvert frowned and leaned back in his chair. Enhanced speed, precognition, and telekinetics was a potent combination for a grab-bag cape, even if they clearly hadn't refined their technique yet. It made the possibility of her recruitment by the E88 all the more concerning. "Any prior connections to the Empire?"

"...No, I don't think so. Has aspirations at being an Independent Hero. Didn't really want to step in to help the Nazi until after she saw Rune get shot, at which point she felt obligated." A useful lever, though not sufficient on it's own. "Of course, with Victor carrying the two of them off in the aftermath, it's hard to say if that will stay the case."

That was the crux of the issue, wasn't it? Victor and Othala were likely to try and give the new Cape a soft sell, especially in the wake of her saving Rune, but even that could be troublesome down the line. The Empire was already stronger than he'd like. It was a delicate balancing act, keeping the gangs of the city powerful enough to make Piggot seem ineffectual, but weak enough that his eventual strike would remove them all.

"Sorry Boss, I think that's all I got. It's harder to get stuff from a video like this."

She was lying, the annoying girl, but that was fine. The PRT had seen the video and done it's own analysis on it as well. They had failed to pick up on the precognizance - they had concluded enhanced senses - but they didn't fail to notice how whatever the new Cape had done had caused Rune to wake once again. Healing of some sort, was the going theory, though it clearly required consciousness, so it wasn't gifted in the way Othala's was.

A potent combination indeed.

"Very well, Tattletale. You will receive payment to the usual account."

He waited for her acknowledgement before hanging up the phone and closing his eyes. A second troublesome element to add alongside the ticking time bomb that was Sophia Hess and the Hebert case. The activities of Shadow Stalker had always been meant to come to light. When combined with how Piggot had decided the mandatory therapy sessions for Protectorate and Ward members were an unnecessary expense, it would be one more black mark that would see the damnable woman out of office. However, Sophia Hess had managed to outperform all his expectations.

As it was, things were set to explode early.

So he'd been forced to delay as best he could. He'd slipped Hess the information that the police were after her and sent her to ground. He'd continue to feed her information on the various gangs, help her with her vigilante streak, in the hope that it would distract her from doing something as stupid as going after her civilian victim again.

He didn't anticipate the situation would hold very long.

In the meantime however, he needed his agents to delay the court date for the Heberts' suit against Winslow. The entire situation would require more media coverage. Soon, one of his lawyers would offer to take the case pro bono, or at least, that would be what they would inform the Heberts of.

In the meantime, he would have to keep an eye out for any other troublesome elements that could intrude upon the city. The Slaughterhouse Nine had apparently last been sighted in Winslow, Arizona, which thankfully, was close to as far as it was possible to be with them still in the United States. There had been some sort of meteor strike near Toronto that Dragon had cordoned off, citing radioactive material. Not so unusual, though he would have expected it to be a cover for one of her factories being in the area, except for the files in the PRT that were classified even above his moles' ability to access. _That _was worth a raised eyebrow, but was ultimately irrelevant to Brockton Bay.

No, the largest difficulty was timing. It felt as though he were a juggler tossing spinning plates in the air hoping they did not fall and break. His plans were coming to a head however. A few more months and he would cleanse this city of the gangs and make it the safest place in the United States. A few more months and he would rule this city.

The phone rang. He checked the caller and allowed it an additional two rings before picking up. "Ah, Mister Andino. It's good to hear from you again. I trust you've reconsidered my job offer?"

* * *

Strictly speaking, gambling was illegal in the state of New Hampshire unless operated by the State. Strictly speaking, that only mattered if the government had the manpower to enforce its laws. It was an open secret that the Ruby Dreams Casino operated just outside city boundaries, but with the amount of gang activity that went on in Brockton Bay, no one really had the time or effort to spare for shutting it down.

There were bigger fish to fry than a modest sized casino.

That's what they were counting on anyways. With the Ruby Dreams' distance from the city, response time by the cops and the PRT should be slow. Their in-house security was enough to deal with random gangbangers who wanted to enjoy a night squandering whatever cash they had scrounged up, but it wouldn't stand up under a raid.

Or so Lisa had said.

"I dunno, Tattles, their security is looking a bit beefier than you described them."

"Please, they're just there to look big and intimidating. They're basically Mall Cops."

"Yeah, no, these guys look a lot closer to fucking John Kimble than Paul Blart, Tats. Pretty sure they're packing heat too."

Brian cut in. "Chill, Regent. We've got a plan. As long as we stick to it, they won't even know what hit them."

"Fine, fine, just don't blame me when things go tits up." Not that Alec actually cared. It'd probably be fun if it did. He just wanted the excuse to bitch at Lisa for it later. Lisa rolled her eyes. Alec flipped her off from the comfort of his own mind. Lisa smirked back at him. Fine. You win this one, you mind reading bitch.

Lisa actually let out a laugh at that. "Don't you forget it either. Now come on. We've got a paycheck to steal."

"Dumbasses."

Alec flashed a grin at Rachel's comment. "My ass is brilliant, thanks."

Rachel growled in response, but the team was already moving, darkness spreading out to cover the casino. A guard panicked and raised his gun, firing blindly into the darkness. He wasn't anywhere close to hitting them, of course, but still, it was better to avoid that. Alec waved his scepter and the man's hand spasmed and dropped the weapon.

The guard went down a moment later, pinned by the weight of Rachel's dog. Alec casually kicked the stupid fuck in the balls as he walked past. Brian looked at him. Alec was pretty sure he was frowning under his helmet, but he couldn't see it. So, eh. Not like Brian actually said anything. He began sauntering up the stairs.

Inside, there were another set of guards, but at least these ones weren't dumb enough to blind fire into darkness. Alec forced them to stumble and fall and Brian hopped on top of them to tie them up. Heh. Maybe he could rag on Brian later for tangling with big, sweaty men.

Lisa led them down another hallway, down a flight of stairs, and finally to the manager's office. There were only another five goons along the way. Pretty disappointing, all in all. The manager himself was a vaguely Asian looking man, probably why the casino got so much business from the ABB, who was cowering under his desk. Brian cleared the darkness in the room and Lisa sauntered around the desk. "Why hello there, Mister Kato. I'm afraid this is a robbery."

"Look, you won't get anything here. Other gangs have tried before. I've already triggered our alarm. Everything's been locked down. Even I couldn't open any of the cashier's drawers or our vault downstairs until the owner has verified that we're clear from a remote location."

"Oh, don't you worry about that, Mister Kato." Alec raised an eye as he watched Lisa subtly insert a USB into the man's computer. That wasn't something they'd talked about during the plan. A second objective from their "Boss," maybe? "I'm not too worried about the sham vault you have to show off downstairs. No, what I'm more concerned about is what the code is to the vault you have hidden behind your bookshelf over there."

The man went pale. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mmhm. Good thing I'm a psychic then." Lisa tapped the side of her head with a grin. "Let's see… One two zero eight seven three four seven? Aw, it's your daughter's birthday and the last four digits of her phone number? That's sweet, Mister Kato. Terrible security, but sweet. I'm done with him now, Grue."

Ah, there was the moment that the guy pissed himself in fear. He'd been wondering how long it would take. Lucky for him Grue wasn't the type of thief to kill his loose ends. Didn't want the sort of heat that would bring. Neither did Alec really. Less attention meant less chance of any of his family finding him. Anyways, it seemed they were just about done here. Grue was finishing tying the guy up, Lisa was cracking the safe, and…

"Shit."

Grue's head snapped up. "What's the problem, Tattletale?"

"Seems like Mister Kato here was something of a naughty boy. He's been funnelling a portion of the profits over to the ABB."

"Protection money? Or is he a mole?"

"A mole. The owner wasn't aware. Fuck, he's going to get outed after this. The ABB's going to be pissed."

"Best we clear out and lay low for a couple of weeks then."

Lisa was moving, scooping everything into a set of duffle bags they'd brought along. "Yeah, we'll talk it over back at base."

"Right. Might be good to look into recruiting if we're going to start pissing off the bigger gangs."

"Back at base, Grue. For now, we need to get moving. We've got maybe five more minutes before the Protectorate starts showing." Lisa tossed a duffel at Brian before shouldering one herself. A quick grab of the USB and they were out the door. Alec hung back to hit the manager with his taser before following. A guy's gotta have a hobby, right?

Outside, Rachel had already gathered the dogs and Lisa and Brian were mounting up. Alec hopped up behind Brian and wrapped his arms around their leader. "Hey there, honey. No homo, am I right?"

Brian looked back at him, gaze inscrutable under the skull-faced helmet. Yeah, Brian was totally into it, he could tell. Brian finally shook his head after a moment and looked back forward as the Undersiders took off into the night.

Lisa spoke up, shouting to be heard over the wind. "Grue, you're going to want to spread your darkness two blocks south! Velocity's going to be the first responder and we'll need to lose him fast!"

"Got it!"

The world fell into silence as darkness enveloped them. They would still be able to hear each other, Grue could control his darkness to an extent, keep things visible and audible for his allies but not his enemies; but everything else was cut away. There was only the roiling mass of muscles under their legs, the small grunts every time a dog jostled one of them. Not the smoothest of rides, these dogs, but they did in a pinch.

"Alright, veer west now. Velocity's about to catch up, so it's your turn, Regent. Make him take a spill."

True to her word, Velocity came charging through the darkness. He was obviously blind, hands stretched out in front of him, searching. He would have completely passed them by even without Alec's interference. Still, the nature of his power gave him an advantage in this sort of blind search. According to Lisa, it wasn't actually increased speed, so much as changing how time affected his body. So to him, the sixty mile per hour sprint through the darkness was actually a careful walk as he searched for a way through.

Regent made his leg spasm and sent the Hero tumbling. It wouldn't make a huge difference, but it would confuse Velocity's sense of direction, especially as he made the man spin a bit to the left while falling. By the time the darkness dissipated enough for him to see again, the Undersiders would be long gone.

"Piece of cake, Tats."

"You suck at nicknames, by the way."

"Le gasp. That hurts me right here. Right in my heart."

"Cut the chatter, you two," Brian said, sounding exasperated.

Alec laughed but stopped talking, letting the Undersiders travel in companionable silence, riding under the high of a well-done heist. It was another forty minutes of winding paths, not travelling straight back to their base, but instead twisting and turning through the city to lose any would-be followers.

When they finally came to a stop, Alec hopped off and rubbed at his ass. Really, not the smoothest of rides, these dogs. "So how'd we do anyways, Tattles? What sort of haul did we get?"

"Not counting the bonus from our Boss? Close to sixty. Not bad for a quick and easy job, eh? Think you'll have enough for your loot boxes?"

"As a preeminent whale, I'm sad to inform you that there is never enough cash to fill the hole that gacha has left in my heart, Tattles."

"Yeah, well, try not to spend it all in one place at least."

"Mm, we'll see." He started up the stairs towards the loft, only to find Rachel standing in the doorway looking inside. "Hey Bitch, some of us want to get to sleep sometime tonight."

Rachel growled in response. The fuck? He tilted his head and saw dark hair draped over the side of the couch. The double fuck? Had someone found their base?

"Oh good, you guys are finally back. I was getting tired of waiting."

The dark hair lifted and turned itself, and Alec spotted a red streak dyed through its bangs as its owner looked at him. "Hey little bro, I'll be crashing here for a while. You don't mind, right?"

* * *

Dinah rested with her face buried inside her pillow. She wanted to get up, get an ice pack from downstairs, but she didn't want to move either. The headache had been steadily growing, a throbbing tension that radiated throughout her skull. Like something was trying to escape. Like a firehose that had no release. It just built and built until she felt like exploding.

It'd been going on for days now. Her parents had written it off at first - people had headaches now and then. Migraines, even. But it had persisted. Now they were talking about taking her to the hospital, getting an MRI scan.

73.42% chance of being kidnapped if her brain was scanned.

She winced, her headache intensifying for a moment. It was hardly anything though. A grain against the mountain that was already piercing her brain. She had powers. She'd figured that out. The flickers of vision, the numbers that clarified, all of it was enough for her to know. If only she knew what her powers were trying to tell her.

Another spike of pain and Dinah curled up, whimpering. There was another vision there. A future with thousands of parahumans gathered in one place.

And then every single one of them died.

How?

Another future. The world was barren of all life.

How?

She looked and parahumans were fighting something she couldn't see. And then everything died.

Why?

She stood there, ankle deep in snow. She slowly walked through a crowd. Everyone was scared, nervous, pent up, excited. They were expecting a big battle on the horizon. They were fighting for their future against an implacable enemy. But they would fight nonetheless.

Then someone pointed at the sky. Dinah followed their gaze and saw, one by one as the stars began to go out.

[FEAR]

[DESPAIR]

One by one the stars went out. The world was consumed by darkness. And everything died.

Dinah shrieked. Her headache was gone, but it didn't matter.

99.78% chance that the end would begin within three years.


End file.
